Rainy Night
by Shapeshifter89
Summary: (NO SEX GUYS JUST MILD SUGGESTIVE THEMES AND VIOLENCE) A night that appeared to be almost normal, turns into a dramatic, and deadly affair Update: Continuing the story because it was suggested and I'm changing the rating because I can...
1. Rainy Night

**DO NOT OWN ANYTHING! 'CEPT my brain**

Zim was panting, struggling to run back to his base as fast as he could. It was raining-hard. It was freezing, each drop of rain felt like cold, burning daggers across his skin. He could barely see past a foot in front of him, and he had nearly got hit by four cars already. _Curse this filthy Earth weather, _Zim cursed. Running, he didn't notice the large puddle creeping closer. Approaching it, Zim's foot splashed into it, burning his green, Irken skin even further, causing smoke to emulate from his body. He winced back the pain, tightening his grip on the thing he was holding. He felt the body in his arms shiver furiously. _Hold on worm-baby, _Zim thought, _Hold on._

He almost ran past his base, but Gir's high pitched screams are hard to miss, even if you're blind. Zim burst through the front door of his base, causing Gir to scramble around, trying to hide his mess away from his master. Zim ignored the mess, for there was only one thing on his mind. Zim opened the elevator door, stepping inside in order to reach the medical bay. Pressing a button with a large, Irken symbol on it, he and his _guest_ were quickly transported to the medical bay.

"Computer," Zim demanded, "run a diagnostic scan on the human, and do what you must to treat her." With a yes, the computer began to run a scan. Zim shivered, he was soaked from the cold rain. _That accursed rain, _Zim thought, _she probably has hypothermia. _Zim's suspicions were proven correct as the scan showed signs of Stage One of hypothermia. Zim sighed in relief; she was going to be fine. "Computer, treat her till I get back." Zim said. The only response he got was a '_whatever' _from the computer as he went into the elevator and back up to change his wet and burn-smelling clothes.

Zim had changed from his human-disguise to his comfortable alien form. He carried his human _guest_ into Zim's bedroom, not that he ever used it, Irken's don't need sleep. The room was draped with crimson, even the bed, from its silky, soft sheets, to the comfy, fluffy pillows; everything was a bright bloody crimson. He tried placing the human on the bed gently, trying to not disturb her unconscious sleep. In doing so, a slight moan escaped from her flesh colored lips, causing Zim to stop midway. When all was silent again, he continued, laying her gently on the bed, covering her body with the warm, crimson blankets.

He stared at her for a while, watching her sleep. He knew who she was, but what was her name again. It escaped him. It was something unique, a name that no one else had.

"Gaz…" he silently trailed out. _The Dib-human's sibling_, Zim observed. He recalled how earlier that day, Dib had accused Zim of somehow, being involved with his sister going missing. Of course, being the MIGHTY ZIM, Zim ignored Dib, throwing a water bottle at his large head.

_"I know you have done something to her, Zim! And when I find her, you are SO dead!"_ Dib had spat.

Zim's mind began to trail off into how he found her, Gaz. He was walking home from the questionable part of town that no one ever goes; trying to search for Gir's flying chip that Gir threw across town in an attempt to play hide-and-seek with it. He was silently walking under an umbrella in the thick rain when he saw her. Just lying on a bench; cold rain, completely soaking her from head to toe; she was shivering furiously. It was no wonder that Dib could not find her. Zim knew what would happen if he just left her there. Without thinking, he threw down his umbrella, disregarding the fact that he had not bathed in paste that week, picked her up, and began to run.

He stared at her now. Her features had changed since they had first met her six years ago. Instead of being the small, ten-year-old she was, she had become a thin, semi-tall, curvaceous young woman of seventeen. Her hair had only changed slightly; it grew almost past her shoulders; still coming to a point at the end, but was still the vibrant violet it had always been. Her hair, it intrigued him so. He stared at it, entranced by the vibrant color; it looked so utterly soft, each strand falling perfectly on her face, like a work of art. He was so focused about how soft her hair looked. He was tempted to-no he desperately wanted to touch her hair; to feel those soft strands against his three Irken fingers. Unknowingly, he felt himself slip off the glove of his right hand, and reached his hand out towards her, suddenly stopping himself.

_ What the hell do you think you're doing?! _His inner self roared.

_What does it look like I'm doing? _He argued.

_It looks though as if you are about to make a mistake! _His inner self scolded him. _You are an INVADER damn it! Start acting like one! You should have just left her ass out there!_ Zim began to pull his hand back slowly.

_She could have died, _Zim spoke softly to his inner self.

_Who gives a damn? Not you! It's one less pathetic human to deal with then, right?_

_SHUT THE FUCK UP! _Zim was getting irritated by that annoying voice in his head. Ignoring his inner self's warning, he reached up again, too entranced to listen anymore; letting fingers run through her hair slowly, sighing as he did so. It _was_ soft, like a cloud, if clouds had a feel. If they did, Zim assumed that they would feel like this. The softness was almost, comforting to him. A warm feeling began to swell inside of him. The feeling was, nice. Zim took in Gaz's appearance in detail. Her porcelain face, her pale skin, her striking, vibrant, violet hair covering her eyes. Her eyes. He began to think that he's never really seen what her eyes look like before. _What do her eyes look like?_ he questioned. It wasn't just her appearance that captivated him however, it was her entire personality. How she stroked fear into the hearts of others at a glance, the way she could doom anyone without a second thought to spare. This dark prowess made her stand out from all the other humans on this filthy rock. The other female-units were all but mangy tramps who only cared about how many guys they could lay in a day. She was _different._ It was for that reason why he found himself, again, reaching up to stroke her hair. Although this time, she moaned, opening her eyes slowly, revealing two radiant, amber colored eyes, which seemed to glow while she stared at him. Zim's sqiddley-spooch fluttered at the sight of those incredible, piercing eyes. He couldn't move, he _knew_ he wanted to step back, he _knew_ he wanted to pretend that he never touched her; letting them both go on with their lives, but he was paralyzed. He didn't move; he couldn't. Gaz only stared at him, her hair still laced between his fingers.

"Zim?" she said, barely above a whisper. A shiver ran down Zim's back. Her voice was powerful, almost alluring. It was in that moment that he tried to step back, only to have his collar be pulled down, forcing him to look in her eyes, those enchanting, deadly eyes.

"Where am I Zim?" she seethed the words out. The power that he was used to hearing in her voice was gone and replaced with weakness from sitting out in the rain.

"In my quarters," Zim began, "you were out in the rain." _Duh! _Zim told himself; _of course she knows she was out in the rain! _Gaz slowly loosened her grip on Zim's collar and let him go. Zim staggered backwards, fixing himself up after that close encounter with the Gaz-human. Gaz sat up and hugged her knees; she then closed her eyes and gave out a long sigh. The room was silent for a while, Zim wanted to say something, but he also valued his life; he didn't want to say anything that would offend her. He looked around hoping that the maddening silence would end soon.

"Why did you bring me here?" Gaz asked softly. Zim was surprised by the sudden question, but it didn't take long for him to reply, the answer was simple.

"You were out there; alone, in the rain-," but he was cut off.

"I mean why didn't you just leave me there?!" Gaz shrieked, raising her head up from her knees to eye Zim hatefully. Zim was stunned; this worm-baby had the audacity to glare such a hateful glare at the mighty Zim after saving her very life!? No 'thank you' or words of appreciation. How dare she!

"Have you the brain worms human!? You could have died out there!" Zim shouted ponting a gloved finger at her. Gaz swiped the hand away, her hatred growing until the only emotion readable seemed to be pure, utter hatred. But there was something else. Small tears began to form in the corners of her eyes, and Zim noticed. The tears seemed to cause a tinge of pain within his stomach. Before he could act, she shut her eyes allowing the tears to flow down, and then glared at Zim and began to scream.

"I WISH YOU WOULD HAVE LEFT ME THERE TO DIE!" The words were like icy daggers into Zim's squiddly-spooch. Her emotions began to flow, and more tears began to form with them. Zim couldn't believe those words had exited the human's mouth. _Leave her? Out there, to die? Why would anyone want that?_ He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. He looked deep into those wonderful, amber eyes; filled with anger, sadness, and most of all confusion. He was outraged by her statement; it was insane, completely lucid. He wanted to shake her, ask her what kind of parasite had entered her brain to cause stupidity to envelop it. But he couldn't. Instead, he wiped her tears away with his fingers, causing a stinging pain on his fingers, which he ignored.

"Why, in this enormous universe, would you want that?" Zim said softly. His features becoming forlorn, he awaited her answer patiently as she began to regain some composure to speak. Tears were still forming in her eyes. _Why does he care?_ She asked herself, _it's not like it concerns him anyway, I don't need anyone. _But looking into his eyes she knew different. Those ruby pools began to mesmerize her. She couldn't help but _want _to tell him. Tell him everything; how her mother had died when she was two, how her father completely ignored his own children after the loss, not caring about where they are or what they do. Not even knowing their names. How Dib run's off every day, leaving her to fend for herself, or how no one in this big empty world cared about what would happen to her, even if she did die. She told him _everything._

Gaz breathed heavily, she had just told him _everything_. She blushed; she never opened herself up like this before, to anyone, especially not Zim. She was frightened, showing any emotion was a sign of weakness. Yet it felt… nice. After all these years of bottling up her emotions, it was a relief to get them out. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked down at the floor, trying to hide her blush.

"No one would care if I died anyway…" she solemnly repeated. This statement, what she believed to be the truth from repeating it over the years, caused tears to form again. _No one would care _she kept repeating over, and over again in her mind. _No one_.

"You're wrong." She heard a voice say. A voice filled with care and concern, she knew who it was: Zim. He lifted her chin up so that she could see his eyes. Those sad, alien eyes captivated her. They pulled her in, she felt as if she wanted to stare into those eyes forever. Those magical eyes could just take her away from this abysmal reality. To take away all the pain in her heart. She shook herself back into reality, curious about his words.

"What?"

"I said: you're wrong." Zim began to lean down, inching closer and closer to her face. His eyes began to slowly shut as his lips met hers, bringing his arms around her waist. Gaz couldn't believe what was happening, her heart felt as it was going to soar out of her chest. The world seemed to vanish out of thin air; leaving only them to bask in this enchanting moment. Gaz was shaking, she was terrified, _emotions are a sign of weakness_ she heard her conscious say, _never let them show. _Zim tightened his grip on her, giving Gaz the support to stop shaking. _Never let me go_, she thought as she relaxed and felt her eyelids grow heavy as she leaned deeper into the kiss, allowing it to grow into a fiery and passionate one. _Maybe just this once,_ she thought, _I'll let my emotions get the better of me.  
_

_**A/N : This was my first fic O.o hope you enjoyed it! You can totes flame, but it's not like I give a damn about your flame B) *like a boss***  
_


	2. A Dream?

**A/N: I DON'T OWN INVADER ZIM! JUST MY BRAIN! IF I EVEN HAVE ONE!**

Gaz awoke from her unconscious, yet peaceful slumber. Well at least it was peaceful until the horrible buzz of her alarm clock almost made her fall out of her bed. She shuffled through her covers; desperate to get her hand free to end that horrible buzzing. She angrily slammed her hand down on the alarm clock, causing to sputter buzzing sounds till it finally went silent. Gaz rubbed her eyes, and looked around; realizing she wasn't in Zim's base as she previously believed. She looked around her room, still the same room with dark violet colored walls and dark grey carpet sprawled on the floor. The desk, which she would do homework (if she felt like doing it that is) with her Dell Inspiron laptop with a Slipknot cover on it. She sat up. _Why am I here? _She questioned. You think that waking up in your room should be a normal thing, but when the last thing you remember is kissing an alien in his headquarters, you generally believe-or _want_ to expect to wake up there. Wait, kiss?

Gaz blushed and tried to confirm her recollections to see if they were correct. _Did I kiss Zim? _She queried herself. She reached her hand up and touched her lips. _Did I? _She felt her heart thump loudly at the thought. _No, I couldn't have_, she assured herself her blush now subsiding; _I must have been dreaming…shit what time is it? _Gaz eyed the clock that she obviously broke, smacking it again and threatening to doom it if it didn't cooperate; it lit up and showed the time. _7:50…_

"FUCK ME!" Gaz shouted, springing out of her black sheets and blankets; fumbling out of her bed to rapidly get dressed for school. _What day is it?_ Gaz wondered as she put on a black undershirt and long-sleeved, black, low cut shirt, and black skinny jeans. She fumbled out of her room, rushing to the bathroom, beginning brushing her teeth. Looking in the mirror, she noticed something strange. She looked _ok. _Not okay as in appearance, but as in health wise. Didn't Zim say she had hypothermia? From what she saw, she looked like a normal healthy teenager. No signs of weakness or symptoms of hypothermia. _It must have been a dream, _Gaz thought to herself. For some reason, for a moment, this upset her. Did she wish it _wasn't _a dream? _NO! Of course you don't, you don't care_ Gaz's inner self commented. _You're right, _Gaz said, trying hard to convince herself.

Gaz quickly tiptoed down the stairs. She decided to skip breakfast and head to skool straight away, she didn't want to risk having her brother drive her to school and probe her with strange questions or rant about Zim. _Zim_, Gaz silently thought. Reaching for the doorknob, almost escaping without any intrusions…

"Gaz," Dib greeted, "you heading out? Come on, I'll give you a ride I have LOADS to talk to you about." _Damn it, _Gaz seethed to herself as Dib opened the door, it was raining, again. She sighed. _Guess I have no choice but to go with him_, Gaz supposed. Each grabbing an umbrella, they walked out to Dib's 2011, Black Suburban and got in. They began to pull out of the driveway, and Gaz looked out the window, seeing the raindrops pelt the window and slide down; taking other drops of rain with them. Gaz frowned at the rain. _I wonder if Zim will be okay, _she thought, only to have her thoughts disturbed by her annoying brother.

"Gaz, you should really buckle your seatbelt," Dib advised.

"Shut up." Gaz countered as Dib continued to drive.

"Is it really that bad that I am concerned about you?" Dib began, but was quickly interrupted by his sister.

"Don't be!" she snapped, but Dib continued.

"I mean, you just disappear suddenly and then magically come back home after three days without alerting anyone of your whereabouts?"

"It's none of your business anyway where I go _Dib_," she seethed his name out as if it was poison, "and it's not like you went out to look for me anyway!" There was silence for a moment as they came to a stoplight. Continuing on the drive to skool, Dib tried to search his brain for a valid excuse for not looking for her. Seven minutes had gone by, and Dib just couldn't find one. He did care about her whereabouts, yet he couldn't say why he didn't go and try to find her.

"I…" Dib started, sighing in defeat, "I…was…busy." Gaz chuckled, that dark terrifying chuckle.

"The fuck you were. You don't care. _Nobody _cares. And ya know what? The world can just go to hell!" Gaz shouted; opening the car door as they finally arrived at the skool. She slammed the door, muffling Dib's response. Opening her umbrella, she marched furiously toward the Hi Skool, cursing all that stood in her path to a nether world of pure doom. The first bell rang as she walked in the door, signaling that class started in one minute. _Damn it, _Gaz doomed the bell, picking up her pace to get her books and get to her class on time. _You're gonna be late, _her inner self spoke reaching her locker and grabbing what she needed._ No I won't! _Gaz turned the corner sharply, ramming hardly into somebody, causing books and papers to drop and fly. "Shit!" Gaz began, "Watch where you're-" but she stopped halfway, finally seeing who she had bumped into. "Zim?"

Zim sat on the ground, about two feet away from Gaz. He rubbed his head, and then adjusted his wig that had been disheveled during the crash. He opened his mouth to yell at the pathetic human-slime who had bumped into him, but stopped when he saw that it was Gaz that bumped into him. They stared at each other, each not moving a muscle, let alone breath. Gaz looked into those fake lenses that Zim wore and thought about his deep, captivating ruby eyes that held sorrow in them the day before. How those enchanting eyes took all the pain away as he gently kissed her and held her like a priceless piece of artwork; like he never wanted to let go. Her heart thumped, loudly, she was so sure that Zim could hear it, and felt her face get hotter by the second. _No, that was a dream_, Gaz told herself, _wasn't it?_ She tried to look away, but couldn't. _Those eyes…_Just then, the bell rang, signaling that class had started, and they were now late. Great. Zim moved first picking up his papers and shoving them into his books. He stood himself up and looked down at Gaz, who was still staring at him, completely in some sort of trance.

"Watch where you're going next time." Zim stated. His voice wasn't angry or anything, in fact, it was almost emotionless; almost monotone-like. He then walked toward his first class and left Gaz to do nothing but stare at him; seeing him vanish from sight. She joggled her mind back into reality; gathering her books and papers, that too, in the confusion, sprawled onto the floor. _Shit_, Gaz cursed again, composing herself and began to swiftly walk to her first class: Anatomy. _What a boring class! _She turned another corner and saw that the teacher, Mr. Kenthel, wasn't standing outside like he always does after the bell, trying to find late kids. Gaz thought that she might be able to squeeze by, and not get caught coming in late. Mr. Kenthel was probably in the bathroom anyway. I mean the guy was like sixty-two, he had to have a weak bladder, right? Gaz eased her way into the classroom. She sighed in victory. She made it.

"Ahem." Said a voice, which she knew well. She was approached by a hairy grey-haired man with thick, eyebrows and breath that could kill any living creature.

"Late again are we Miss Membrane?" Mr. Kenthel breathed out. Gaz was trying to not breathe in the deadly fumes while she answered him.

"I fell in the hallway…" Gaz half coughed half mumbled, giving him a glare that said, '_don't fuck with me today, I'm not in the mood today'_. So, the teacher just left it at that and allowed Gaz to take her seat at the back of the room. Gaz sat down and took her notebook out and a pencil, not that she would write anything. Today, they were talking about simple columnar ciliated epithelial tissue and its uses... how exciting! She stared out the window; thinking. Her mind drifted along different subjects and topics ranging from video games, to what she was going to eat at lunch today. Though, eventually, even though she tried not to, her thoughts eventually trailed to Zim. She began thinking about the incident in the hallway, what had it meant? _Nothing! It means nothing, only that it was just a dream after all, you moron_, Gaz's inner self explained. Gaz sighed, it didn't seem like he reacted to seeing her, he was just being normal. Well, normal for Zim that is. _Well, he didn't scream at me, that's sort of unusual_, Gaz thought, _but he didn't seem to react strangely toward me either. _Gaz put her head down, breathing in deeply; what happened? She put her head back up, breathing out. _I must have been dreaming, there is no other explanation. _Gaz deduced that the incident was all some twisted scenario that her messed up brain conjured up for, God knows what reason. Just a dream; nothing more. She was absolutely glad that it was all just a dream. Wasn't she? Her thoughts on Zim were interrupted by the loud, irritating bell. As she walked out of class and toward her next one, her brain tried to rack around some logical reason for conjuring up such a, well, _peculiar _dream. _No particular reason really, right? The brain is a complicated and stupid organ; it does strange things all the time_, Gaz kept assuring herself. _It's nothing. Completely and absolutely: nothing._

Skool went on as boring as ever, everyone zoning out here and there, some eyeing the clock until the last strike of the hand signaled the end of the day. When the ending bell rang, it caused utter chaos to explode throughout the Skool's hallways. Freshman tried not to get trampled as huge upper classman trotted through the hallways to reach the exits. It was like a bunch of animals that escaped from the zoo and were attacking kittens, but with more hysteria. Gaz; however, had no issue getting through the hallway, one look at her, and people _moved_, no excuses. Nightmare worlds really didn't appeal to them. The previous year, one freshman girl, who had just moved there, didn't know about Gaz's annihilating abilities and, well, let's just say blocking the exit wasn't a good move. No one knows what happened, but that girl was now utterly terrified of bologna. Gaz exited the Skool and began to walk down the steps when her brother, Dib, grabbed her arm; stopping her. She scowled, what the hell did he want?

"Gaz," Dib said, "I know you're still mad at me for this morning but-"

"Yeah, I am Dib!" Gaz interrupted, tearing her arm away from her brother's grasp and swiftly walking away.

"Gaz, wait!" Dib called out after her. Gaz didn't turn, just kept walking. Dib followed her, not concerned about his car. He kept calling after her, trying to apologize and offering her a ride home. Gaz remained silent, trying to ignore him and contain her anger rapidly building up inside her from his increasingly annoying voice. Dib kept on apologizing, promising that he'll try harder; his pleas going unanswered. _I need to get away from him before I explode, _Gaz thought. They began to hastily approach a busy crosswalk. _I'll get rid of him there_. Gaz began to quicken her pace. Constantly repeating to herself, _need to get rid of him, need to get rid of him, NEED TO GET RID OF HIM! _

"Gaz, wait, PLEASE!" Dib yelled, grabbing her by the arm, and turning her to face him.

"Gaz, please, I want to start over, get to know you more. We can hang out more often if you-" Gaz's eyes opened, revealing the rage and fire that she was bottling up, trying to not let it out. She just couldn't handle it anymore, and her rage exploded into a hellish fire. She tore her arm away from him, making fists and then, exploded.

"Shut up Dib, just SHUT THE HELL UP! GOD! I can't tolerate you anymore! Don't you see that I don't care?That I want to get as far away from you as I possibly can? That I don't _need_ you?!" Gaz roared, beginning to cross the street, ignoring the 'DO NOT CROSS' sign blinking rapidly. She continued as she walked, "That I don't _need _dad! That I don't _need _ANYONE?!"

"GAZ!" Dib shouted, noticing the oncoming truck rapidly approaching. Gaz was so livid, she took a deep breath, turned around drastically, and screamed at the top of her lungs, not noticing the truck coming at breakneck speed.

"AND I DON'T NEED ZI-" Gaz turned as she finally saw the beeping vehicle heading straight toward her. Her eyes widened, everything seemed to slow down frame by frame. She saw the truck coming, she saw Dib's eyes, widening from the terror that was going to come to his sister. Everything went silent. Dib's screams were silent, and the truck's horn was nothing more than an empty sound of air. Gaz's mind went blank, it too also silent. She felt the wind slowly caress her cheeks as the truck was now barely inches away from her. Then, the speed of the world continued at its normal speed, and all Gaz saw was a flash of green, and heard the most lurid, and loudest crash of metal.

**A/N: Ooooo much dramatica! Was it a dream? Was it real? Do I myself even know and plan to drag this out as long as possible till people get pissed? Lolz got a suggestion to continue and, I DON'T LET DOWN MY PUBLIC! So 2:30 on a school night to finish this= worth it hooker! Hope you enjoyed it! If not, the, pfft your loss. *Puts on sunglasses* See ya next time.**


	3. How to Save a life

** A/N: Did I say I owned this? Of course not! I own/regret nothing! **

**Note: I am going to write about how Zim got there… b^.^d**

BRIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG! The thundering sound of the bell that concluded the skool day had finally come. Zim sighed in relief as he stood up from his seat to exit the class. As many chaotic students flooded out the class door, Zim took his time packing his belongings and gradually make his way out of the classroom. The hallways were filled with students trying to escape the confines of the skool; Zim trying to dodge his way through to the exit, getting smudged and rubbed up against dirty, smelly humans; whose sweat still protruded through their shirts and onto Zim's skin; slightly burning him. _Filthy Humans, _Zim retched to himself, _absolutely disgusting. _Finally escaping the swarm of mass hysteria that is hi skoolers, Zim made his way out the door, breathing in the fresh air of the outside. _Finally, I'm away from the smelly pig-children_.

Zim stepped down the Skool's steps, beginning the journey back to his base that he walked home to everyday. He continued to walk; passing the skool buses, the parking lot, and eventually off skool grounds entirely. He just kept on walking, occasionally glancing at peculiar events or to feel the cool breeze fill his lungs. As he breathed in; the thoughts that he so tried to desperately hide and bury away clawed at the surface; desperate to get out. He could feel the pain of the thoughts eating him away, almost causing him to crack. _NO!_ his inner self said sternly, _you mustn't think those thoughts! Get rid of them! Destroy them! Drown them out as if they never existed! _Zim paused for a moment, aghast by his inner self. How could he just drown the thoughts out? The thoughts he wished to think, but his Invader instinct saying that it's forbidden?! _Forget about…_Zim began before hearing a familiar voice that made his eyes widen and squiddly-spooch lurch. He looked up and his eyes confirmed who it was he had heard, Gaz. The name spun around in his head and a faint smile formed on his face, only to swiftly be replaced by one of sure horror.

He eyed her; she was in the middle of a crosswalk, screaming at Dib, unaware of the danger quickly approaching. "AND I DON'T NEED ZI-" he heard Gaz say as she finally realized the horror of the situation. Time slowed as Zim's thoughts raced and finally went silent as he dropped all of his belongings and used his mechanical appendages to sprint forward with great speed. Without even thinking, he put himself in between Gaz and the truck, sheliding her while his four mechanical arms, formed a square shaped, high powered laser, blasting and cutting through the semi's body like butter; splitting it in half. Chaos ensued as time returned its normal pace; one half of the truck flipping on its side, sliding, sending sparks into the air, flying into an abandoned building; causing a roaring fire to arise, scorching the building in seconds. The other half flipped in the air, landing upside down; the driver terrified, but still alive, continuing its course forward; hitting a lamppost, causing it to fall and break a fire hydrant; gushing water everywhere. Cars began to brake rapidly, skidding their tires, some people barely stopping fast enough to prevent themselves from crashing. Horns began to blast out sounds of distress as car alarms ran off. People got out of their cars, aggressively banging on the windows of cars whom they blamed for damage. It was chaotic, the only calm in all the commotion being the three teens that had caused it all.

Gaz had her eyes shut the whole time, she was bracing for the impact of the truck; her death. Realizing she was unharmed, she reluctantly opened her eyes slowly. Not staring and observing the damage of the scene, but gazing into the eyes of her savior, Zim. She was completely focused on him as if they were the only beings in existence. Gaz completely ignored the cruel outside world as she gazed into the contacted eyes, which behind them she knew, hid beautiful, bright ruby eyes; eyes that she, somehow, longed to see again. As far as Gaz knew, the world wasn't there; it was just them, only them, them alone. That fantasy was soon disrupted as Dib, hysterically, made his way toward his sister.

"GAZ! Gaz, are you alright? Are you hurt? How many fingers am I holding up? Do you understand me?" As Dib made his way forward, Zim finally realized his actions and quickly stood up. Gaz only stared at him as her brother crouched down to examine her for any wounds. Zim's back was to her; he was silent. Gaz was overcome with shock that she could only stare; the words in her mouth dried up. Zim stood there for a long pause, contemplating and piecing together what just happened. He didn't know what to say or what to do, he just stood there, trying to silence the mad invader in his brain. Eventually he gave into the voice and spoke.

"_Stupid_ human! Only a true moron would walk into a street and almost get killed! What a pathetic excuse for a smart race!" Zim said without so much as turning a head. Gaz didn't know why, but a pain began to fill her chest; feeling empty. She reached her hand to her chest, as if trying to make the pain go away. This statement appeared to anger Dib as he angrily turned his head.

"Damn it Zim! What the hell's your problem? She's not-"

"No Dib," Gaz said softly, almost sadly, "he's right." This made Zim's squiddly-spooch tinge in pain. He wanted to turn around and apologize for his obviously senseless words. But his invader instinct made him stay firm, even though it hurt him. He gave a nod and began to walk away, back to his base, to escape from this feeling from overcoming him. Gaz sat there for a while. Her brother's concerning questions becoming nothing more than wind in her ears; the pain in her chest beginning to escalate; refusing to stop. Once Dib was satisfied in her condition, he helped her up and they continued to walk back to their house.

"What about your car?" Gaz asked emotionless; the pain still growing inside of her. Why wouldn't it just go away?

"I'll drive it home tomorrow, besides, I'm not leaving you alone after that incident." Dib replied. Gaz only nodded her head as they continued their walk. The walk was silent, Dib thought that it was natural to be silent, especially after an life-threatening experience like that, so he ignored it. Gaz however was completely lost in thought, her mind was racing, completely focused on Zim.

_He saved me_, Gaz thought. _Yeah, then totally made you feel like shit, not to mention a dumbass_, she argued with herself. _But, he SAVED me, _Gaz countered. _And what's that supposed to mean exactly? You heard what he said. It's obvious that he just did what anyone would have done in the same situation_, her inner self finalized. Gaz looked at the ground; silent for a moment, then spoke again to herself. _But he despises the human race, why would he save me? _It was her inner self's turn now to pause for a moment, trying to come up with something to contradict that statement. _Well, _it began, _so do you…Good point, _Gaz answered.

"Gaz? GAZ!" Dib called. Gaz's thoughts subsided and she turned her head towards her brother. He was holding open the door to their house, staring at her quizzically. "You coming in?" Gaz was so deep in thought that she didn't even realize how much time had passed, not to mention that she was at her house. She nodded once and stepped in, shoving passed Dib and ascended the staircase up to her room, where she dropped her stuff down, slammed the door, kicked her shoes off, and collapsed into her bed. She sighed, curling up into her covers and hugged her legs. For a few minutes, she just breathed, wanting to calm down and relax, yet the increasingly annoying pain in her chest would not stop throbbing. It was torturing her. She closed her eyes tightly, grabbing one of her pillows to put over her mouth to muffle the scream that she made. She didn't know why, but the pain caused her eyes to hurt, and her face feel wet. She saw water drop from her face to her pillow. Curious, she put her hand to her face to investigate. _I'm…crying? _Gaz wondered. The tears continued to fall at a steady pace. Gaz hugged the pillow tightly too her chest, letting the tears to collect on the pillow. _Why? _Gaz asked herself, _why?_

_Why?_ Zim wondered as he made his way down to his lab deep underground, _why?_ Gir stopped him in his path, trying to hand him a plate a waffles, but Zim smacked them away.

"Not now Gir, I'm busy!" This made Gir's eyes fill with tears and he began to scream wildly.

"Whhhhyyyyyy?! Why won't master eat my wafffflllllleeessss!" he screamed in his high pitched voice. Zim cringed at the screaming, Zim wasn't in the mood for Gir's ridiculous schemes right now.

"Gir!" he demanded, "Go watch T.V. or something!" The little robot immediately stopped _screaming_ and looked at his master.

"Okey-dokey!" Gir replied throwing the waffles at the wall and dashing his way into the living room, sitting down, and turning on the television, leaving Zim to enter his trashcan elevator, bringing him down to his lab. He took off his contacts and wig, tossing them into a container which zapped them away to where they belonged. He rubbed his eyes and leaned back against the elevator wall. He stared at the ground for a moment, his mind still racing, _why?_ The elevator opened, and Zim made his way into his lab. _IGNORE IT!_ He told himself, _Come! Let us make a great weapon mighty enough for the Tallest's to marvel at as we wield it to destroy this pathetic, filthy planet!_ Zim nodded, for once agreeing with himself. He wanted to do anything that would keep his thoughts, his questions away.

He made his way over to his work table, which had random mechanical parts and crinkled up blueprints sprawled all over it. He obnoxiously demanded tools from the computer in which the computer gave out a long sigh, and gave the Irken tools to him. Zim began to work…on…something. He didn't know, frankly he didn't care, he just wanted a distraction. He took a tool that resembled a pen, but shot out sparks in which was used to connect pieces together. Zim tried to concentrate on making the object, but something was eating him away, inhibiting him from continuing. He stopped, took a deep breath, and tried again. He stopped again, _what's happening?_ he questioned. He dropped his tools and quickly grabbed his chest. He screamed loudly, and staggered back away from the work table, leaning himself against the wall to hold himself up. _What is this pain that inhibits Zim from thinking coherent thoughts? _He slid down the wall until he sat on the ground, his three-fingered hand still clinging to his chest. He relaxed and shut his eyes tightly, and sat against the wall, hugging his knees together; putting his head down. Zim sighed.

Gaz's hand was clinging to her chest. She sighed.

"Why?" they whispered simultaneously, "Why does s/he cause my chest to hurt like this?"

**A/N: T.T drama bomb! XD My sister didn't know that I began to write fanfiction and she disliked my deep love for ZAGR. In fact she despised it! But she read it and fell in love with it! VICTORY! How did you guys like the chapter? Anyways because I have so many AP classes, expect and least one chapter a week, don't hunt me down and strangle me so I make chapters. They will come when they COME! PEACE OUT HOOKERS! **

***drives away***


	4. Nightly Walk

**Don't own this show, if I did I would have taken it off t.v.! PLEASE READ THE A/N AT THE END!**

Gaz's eyes slowly flickered open; her eyes adjusting to the lack of light in her room. She shuffled in her covers, reaching a hand out to rub her eyes which still stung with pain from crying. She put her hand down to feel the pillow next to her, her tears that had fallen had dried, but the pillow was still damp. She sighed, _I feel like shit_, she thought, glancing at her alarm clock; it was 12:34 A.M. Gaz sighed again, the pain in her chest had finally died down, yet it was still faintly present. She sat up and reached her hand up to hold her chest; she looked down for a moment, debating on what to do. Finally, she got out of bed and reached for her black jacket, which was decorated with intricate, silver spider web patterns all across it. She fixed her hair and makeup, slipped her on her black army boots, and started walking towards her window. She stared outside, the leaves of the trees just beginning to turn various shades of orange and red, varying on each spectrum. It was dark, except the streetlights illuminating the trees, giving them an unnatural glow; the stars silently glinted above. Gaz silently stared out of the window, admiring her surroundings. She began to raise her window up, letting the night's cool air caress her face.

"I'm going out." Gaz whispered, if her brother ever complained about her going out after curfew, he couldn't say that she didn't say that she was leaving. She turned around and crouched down to lift the skirt of her bed to search for something under her bed. When successfully finding what she was looking for, she took out a strange object out and paused to admire it. "Dib's anti-gravity belt_," _Gaz chuckled to herself. Her brother had invented the belt to alter the normal gravity of the individual wearing it, hoping to manipulate his own gravity to infiltrate Zim's base; Gaz, being a good little sister, 'borrowed' the belt so he wouldn't embarrass himself by totally failing. The belt was white with a chrome, circle knob in front, branching off the circle were chrome vectors, which no doubt were the technological aspects of the belt in which altered gravity, but Gaz just thought it looked cool. She strapped the belt on, adjusting it to her size, and once again approached the window. She climbed up and jumped out the window, quickly turning the knob three times to the right, the vectors began to glow neon blue as her gravity was manipulated, making he slowly float down to the ground. On contact, she flipped the knob again three times in the opposite direction to shut it off. She fixed herself up and began walking. Gaz liked walking when she had something on her mind, it helped clear her thoughts; organize them into a way that was more manageable. It helped her in making tough decisions, or cooling down from people who were pissing her off.

The night air was cool, but not enough to make Gaz feel cold. It was nature's awkward transition from hot, humid summer days to the chilly weather of fall. September had just ended and the early signs of October weather slowly made its appearance. Gaz stayed close to the shadows and walked shrouded by miscellaneous shrubbery as she walked; she didn't want anyone calling the cops on her or anything. She walked a good four blocks or so until she reached Piglet Park, a park named after the old Bloaty's restaurant that used to be there. She stared at the park intently; a small smile grew as old memories resurfaced. She remembered how her mother used to take her and Dib to the park long ago. She walked into the park observing each play structure (**see a/n below**), her memories playing back as she passed by each one. Gaz hadn't been to the park in so long since her mother died, it all looked so different. Swings were broken; the slides were now rusty, even the little pond that used to be there was now all dried up. She then approached a large spherical jungle gym near an old oak tree whose leaves were now a bright orange, and paused, the once shiny, silver metal had now corroded into a rusty, brittle material. Gaz frowned and she began to climb up the jungle gym; the memories of her playing with her dear mother still playing back in her mind.

**_Flashback_**

_ "Wook mommy I'm doing it!" _two-year-old Gaz spoke, her L's still not said correctly. Giggling as she climbed the treacherous jungle gym. Her mother, assisting her, was a tall woman of thirty-three, with the same vibrant violet hair, which reached just below her shoulders, that she gave her daughter, along with those radiant amber eyes.

_ "I know! What a brave little girl you are! You are just my little adventurer aren't you?" _Her mother replied, holding her hand to assist her on her was to the top. Two-year-old Gaz finally made her way to the top and triumphantly stood, pointer finger in the air, cheering.

_ I did it! Wook mommy wook how high I am!" _She squealed. **(See a/n below)**

"_Yes my darling, you are very high up indeed,"_ her mother laughed, "but now the tickle-monster is coming to get you!" Mrs. Membrane quickly climbed the structure grabbing her precious jewel in her arms, tickling her as she did so. Two-year-old Gaz giggled uproariously, unable to escape from her mother, the tickle-monster's grasp. After the tickling ceased Mrs. Membrane held her child tightly, lowering her face to lay her head down on her daughter's forehead. The warmth of her mother comforting Gaz._ "You and Dib are my greatest treasures," _she whispered, "_never forget that."_

**_End Flashback_**

"Never forget that," Gaz breathed out, her eyes beginning to form more tears. _Don't cry, _she told herself, wiping the tears away, _emotions are for the weak, _she chastised herself. She was now on the top of the jungle gym; she hugged her legs. Gaz sat there for a while, thinking, remembering. She began to wonder about those times with her mother, when she was a carefree, innocent child. She was nicer then, not this dark, macabre, unfeeling of a girl. What had changed that? She finally knew why. With her father always busy, and Dib never wanting to play with her, her mother became the person Gaz formed an inseparable bond with. Her mother was the only person that ever made her feel loved, the only one who she was comfortable with, her only friend; she had loved her dearly. The flashback of her death filled her mind.

**_Flashback_**

Her mother's death was truly tragic; a mysterious and lethal disease overcame her, causing Mr. Membrane to seclude her in a glass dome, as to not spread the disease, and find the cure. His efforts went on for months; Mrs. Membrane suffering with each passing day. Not only suffering from the painful disease, but not being able to see or hold her own children in her arms, to tell them that she loved them more than anything in this vast universe, to not be there when they need her. The thoughts ate her away; some days she just wanted to give in to the disease's insufferable pain, but she would stay strong, suffer through all the pain, to do anything, to see her children again. After six more months, though her soul didn't want to give in to the disease, her body did. Her organs began to fail; one by one. Her nervous system was deteriorating at an incredibly speed; causing inconceivable pain to ricochet throughout her muscles with every move she made.

_ No!_ Mrs. Membrane screamed in her mind, _please God, don't, my children! Don't make me leave my children! At least let me see them one last time! _Tears began to fall down her cheeks, and as if her prayers were heard, automatic doors swiped open; two children began running into the room, with a man trailing behind them, shouting to them, pleading them to stop. Her eyes trailed towards the doors, for turning her head would only bring her more pain; her tears flowing down. The children were none other than Gaz and her brother, Dib; the man behind them was their father, Mr. Membrane. Gaz ran up to the glass dome, pounding on it furiously; Dib behind her, pressing her face up against the glass.

_ "Mommy! Mommy! Mommmmmmyyyyyy!" _shrieked a terrified, teary-eyed Gaz, who continued to pound on the glass.

"_Gaz!" _her father shouted grabbing ahold of both Dib and Gaz, "_Stop, don't do that! You both should leave mommy alone!"_ Mr. Membrane didn't look at his wife as he pulled his kids away, the sight of her, he knew, would cause him to collapse and cry; knowing that he couldn't do anything in his power to save the woman he desperately loved. He wanted to be strong for his children; not wanting his children to witness their mother in such a horrid state, but to remember her joyful kindness and beauty, not the sickly, pain-filled woman who lay in the dome before them. Gaz didn't care; she fought her way out of her father's grasp, kicking, scratching, clawing at her father. Once out of his grasp, she ran back toward the dome. "_Gaz!" _her father cried. The violet-haired girl ran up to the dome, putting her hands on the glass as she wept and whined; tears dripping down her face.

"_Mommy…" _the little, violet-haired child wept; desperately wanting to feel her warm hugs that filled her soul with joy and wonder. Seeing her children, Mrs. Membrane didn't care how much pain it would cause her. She slowly turned her head to face her child; pain surging throughout her body. "_Mommy?" _Gaz inquired, her eyes continuing to spill tears. Mrs. Membrane forced her arm to extend out to touch the glass wall of the dome, even though it was horribly painful; her hand and her daughter's were now only separated by the glass. Tears continued to fall from her face, but her mouth curled into a nice, warm smile; feeling the warmth of her daughter's hand between the glass, seeing her children, she knew she could let go now.

Gaz shut her eyes tightly, the warmth of her mother's hand on her own wasn't comforting her like it would have been in the past. She opened her eyes to see her mother, smiling at her. Her mother slowly opened her mouth to speak.

"_I love you, my darling; you and Dib both." _She said, Gaz barely making out the weak, muffled words.

"_We wuv you too Mommy." _Gaz said, resting her head on the glass dome, wrapping her other arm around the dome, in a desperate attempt to hug her mother one last time. This caused Mrs. Membrane to slightly chuckle, causing searing pain to envelop her as her sight began to fade into darkness.

"_Goodbye my darling…"_ her mother whispered, her last breath finally escaping her, causing her arm to fall limp from the glass wall, and the warmth of her hand to vanish from her daughter's own; a flat line ringing throughout the room. Gaz's eyes grew wide as she looked up into the dome seeing her mother's eyes shut, no longer moving. Tears began pouring out; she shook her head, this couldn't be happening. She panicked, hitting the dome desperate to wake her mother from slumber.

"_Mommy? Wake up! Pwease Mommy!" _she cried as Mr. Membrane picked her up gently, making his way out the door holding Dib's hand in one arm, and carrying Gaz in the other. "_No Mommy! Wake up! Pwease! Mommy! Pwease…..Don't __leave__ me!" _

**_End Flashback_**

"Don't leave me." present Gaz whispered, wiping her face to prevent the tears from forming. No she wasn't always this way; not cold and malevolent. The death of her mother destroyed the only thing that kept her happy. After that, she grew distant, only wanting to be alone, shielding herself from others around her. She began to hide her emotions, not wanting to feel anymore despair or pain; showing only hatred and callousness to others to prevent getting hurt again. Wrapping herself in a protective shield of this hateful aura, it kept people away and protected her from the repulsive inhabitants of the earth known as the human race. The only human that ever was friendly and actually spent time with her died long ago, and she despised others for not being friendly or kind to her like her mother had. It was their fault that she had cried all those nights after her mother's death and had no one to comfort her. No one was there to say: "It will be okay". They just avoided her entirely, and she loathed them for it. She learned then, it was best to keep people away; she only needed herself to comfort her. She was the only one who could make herself feel better; comforted. And that was completely fine with her. Wasn't it? Gaz sighed, and looked up at the stars, as if looking into heaven to search for her mother; the stars gleamed down; illuminating the sky. The moment was dramatically cut off when she heard at large cracking noise, leaves rustling, a series of painful squeals, and a loud thump hit the ground; she quickly turned around; facing the old oak tree to see what or _who_ disturbed her somber memories. Her eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the person lying on the ground next to the oak tree.

"Zim?"

**A/N: 1) is it really called a play structure? That's what my sister said… *shrugs shoulders***

**2) For those of you smart alecks out there who say, "Gaz is two, her vocabulary can't be that developed." Well, hate to burst you bubble BUT type in 'Vocabulary of a two year old" into google and click on the first link. Boom I'm justified hooker.**

**3) Tell me what you think I don't want to do bad T.T feedback is always appreciated. And the God thing, don't hate on it, just something people usually say before they die.**

**4) That was sad, jeez I actually didn't really intend on expanding on her mom that much…it just happened.**


	5. Nightly Walk, With Company?

**A/N: On that last page I meant I WOULN'T have taken it off t.v. how I missed that spelling error, I don't know. I AM SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! I HAVE PLAY PLUS THE PSAT AND THREE AP CLASSES DON'T KILL ME! Enjoy.**

Zim sighed as he looked towards the dark night sky; the stars glimmering across its vast darkness, the only light piercing through its dark surface. He was sitting on the old oak tree in Piglet Park, after the pain in his chest finally subsided, so he decided to cool off and vent in the tree. He sat on a branch that was thick enough to support him, yet at the end of the branch was a weak, thin spot that he was careful enough not to lean on, lest he wished to fall. He stared thoughtfully and sighed once more, thinking about his home planet: Irk. Oh, how he missed that planet that he once called home. His eyebrows furrowed as he sadly realized he couldn't recall much from his home planet. It had been so long, in Irk years, about thirty-five years to be exact; though to the human's, it was considered to be seven years, but it felt longer for Zim. Names of other aliens of the Irken race were now gone, even their faces escaped him. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples furiously, trying to remember. No success. He scoffed, _spend enough time on a filthy ball of dirt and your memory goes,_ this got a slight chuckle out of him.

He felt the tinge of pain in his chest resurface once more; he reached a hand to his chest.

"Damn it_," _he cursed, closing his eyes to rest for a moment, trying to block out the pain. Eyelids closed, images swirled and played in his brain; random scenes were created as his imagination flourished. He saw himself being congratulated by the Tallests and he smiled wickedly as the image of life forms from the Irken race bowed down to his superior glory; his victory; his conquering of Earth. His imaginary self laughed manically, as everyone beneath his feet, even the Tallests, cheered his name as he waved out to the crowd victoriously. He could only smile he was jubilant; this was all he could have ever wanted! Yes, truly this is all Zim could ever want, right? He felt a deep, hollow, empty feeling in his chest, and his eyebrows furrowed. _What's missing? _He pondered to himself, rubbing his chest attentively. Suddenly the enormous, worshipping crowd began to disappear around him, and Zim's imagination began to overflow with images of Gaz, each image flashing before him. In some images, he saw her angry, others she was crying, memories of her throughout the years were resurfacing to completely fill the alien's thoughts. He marveled at the images and memories, and was compelled to reach out and touch one. His three Irken fingers grasped a memory, the memory turning into a bright ball of light that gave him an instant feeling of warmth that enveloped his body; comforting him. He took the ball of light and hugged it close to his chest, not wanting to let go. For some reason, though Zim could not put it into words, these feelings, these memories, they somehow, filled that emptiness in his chest.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as he heard the sound of footsteps quietly approaching. Zim's eyes shot open as he silently turned his head towards the owner of the footsteps. At first peering through the leaves in the dark of night was difficult; he had trouble confirming who exactly decided to interrupt the great, ALMIGHTY Zim's train of thought. He avoided brushing back the leaves of the tree in order to prevent the intruder from acknowledging his presence. He saw the strange figure slowly climb the rusty old jungle gym and comfortably sit itself upon the top. Who was this person? Zim squinted tightly to attempt to identify who had trespassed into his thoughts. Examining the person, he took in the details and descriptions of the human. About 5'6, female by the looks of her body, black army boots, black jacket, violet hair…wait _violet_ hair? It was Gaz! He covered his mouth to hold the small gasp that escaped his lips. He could easily see her now; hugging her knees and staring up at the sky, that incredible, dark night sky. It was strange; they both seemed to enjoy looking up there. Only for different reasons he supposed; his being missing his home planet. He inched closer to get a better view of her, careful to try not to make a sound; afraid to disturb her. He took her appearance in, examining every detail about her. He observed her hair, oh, how utterly _soft_ her hair still looked, just like when…when… Zim buried the thought away, but still couldn't avert his eyes from her enchanting hair. How he longed to feel that hair's softness, to pet the soft strands and put them behind her ear so he could see her eyes. Which reminded him, those wonderful, beautiful eyes, how would they look with the stars glistening in them? _What is she doing here anyway? _He wondered, observing her closely; his head straining forward to get a better look. She appeared to be crying…crying. This gave Zim a start and pain began to fill his chest again, he didn't know why but just seeing her cry made him feel sad as well. He felt himself move slightly forward again; it took everything in his power not to jump down and wipe her tears away; he'd do anything to stop her from crying; to stop this pain from surging through his chest. He saw her wipe her eyes, those striking eyes, and heard her whisper something that no human could ever hear at this distance between them:

"Don't leave me."

That did it. Zim felt himself move a great distance forward on the branch, and a violet crack sound caused his eyes to widen with fear as Earth's dreaded gravity caused him to fall. He gave out screeches and vocalizations of pain as he hit more branches on the way down, each branch flipping and twirling him into different positions, he was sure he was going to land on his head, but Mother Nature was apparently nice enough to have one more branch hit and flip him another way, he landed straight on his back, hard; causing the wind to get knocked right out of him in a screech. _Damn, _Zim thought, _that REALLY hurt_.

Hearing the sudden noise-or noises-Gaz swiftly turned around to see what, or who intruded her memories. She was surprised to find Zim was on the ground, heaving his chest and trying to breath.

"Zim?!" she gasped, feeling heat rush to her face, "w-what are you doing here?!" She felt embarrassed, she thought she was alone, she wondered silently if he saw her crying…_Damn it_, she said to herself angrily, no one _EVER_ has seen her cry, no one! Well, maybe once…_NO!_ She scolded herself, _That didn't happen!_ Still not receiving an answer from the green alien, she asked again, this time with stern confidence. "What are you doing here Zim?"

Zim wheezed softly, squeaking in between breaths that barely allowed him to breath in the oxygen. He coughed a few times, and reasoned he was recovered enough to speak. Zim pulled himself up and leaned against the tree replying, "What do you mean what am I doing here? I always come here! I come to think and…vent…" he was slowing down as he realized something strange. His voice, it was high-pitched and squeaky, like a chipmunk from Alvin and the Chipmunks. He covered his mouth with both of his gloved hands. Apparently he had yet to recover fully from his fall. Gaz stared at him, for a moment there was only silence, then her lips curled into a wide smile and she tried to cover her mouth as she began to burst out laughing shutting her eyes tight as she continued to laugh uproariously. She hugged her stomach; it was hurting from all the laughter. It was too much, it was too funny! Tears began to roll down from her eyes, God she never laughed as hard as this before; she almost completely fell off the jungle gym because of Zim's hilarious voice!

"You…you…you sound like a chipmunk!" Gaz laughed in between breaths continuing her erratic laughter as Zim's cheeks began to flush an emerald green. Removing his hands, he scowled; he wanted to say something to defend himself. He wanted to yell at her for humiliating the great being that is Zim! He was about to open his mouth to say something, but he stopped, and looked at Gaz. She was _laughing_; he never saw her laugh before. It was wondrous, he couldn't take his eyes off her, her smile was priceless and her laugh, it was as if Beethoven's Ninth symphony was playing. It was majestic and lovely; the sound only an angel could produce. He slightly smiled, he felt as if he never wanted to stop hearing her laughter. As quick as her laughter had started, it ended, almost too soon for Zim. Gaz looked up to see him, she saw his smile, his ruby eyes gleaming with happiness. She felt her face get hot again, _is he smiling at me?_ she wondered. They both simply stared at each other for a moment, Zim lost in his own little world, not even noticing that he was smiling at her. Gaz just stared at him, his smile creeping into her, making her stomach flutter, and his eyes, her face was so hot she thought she'd melt. A few moments went by in silence and Gaz decided she would be the first to break the dramatic silence. "Z-Zim?" she probed, her face still red.

"Hmm?" Zim replied, returning to the real world, his eyes suddenly locking with her own. "Yes?"

"Uh…I…" Gaz started when out of nowhere, a loud voice shouted throughout Piglet Park.

"Hey!" the voice bellowed, "What are you kids doing out here after curfew?" The voice belonged to none other than Officer 'Pudding', his real name was Phillip, but everyone called him 'Pudding' in the police academy, a nickname used to contradict the fact that he was strong and muscular. Rumors say that he wanted to be a in the army, but couldn't because he was too violent and trigger happy. So, he settled in being a police officer, but the police station gave him a Taser only; one must always use precaution right? 'Pudding' set his hand on his Taser, which he named Betty, and again called out to the two teenagers, "It's after curfew maggots! If you do not come with me, I will be forced to use necessary force!" his deep voice boomed, taking out the Taser before even one of them could step forward, and aimed, he began to walk forward. Zim quickly rose to his feet, diving for Gaz's arm which he grabbed and began to take off at great speed. Gaz tripped a little, startled by the sudden movements and began to continue running with Zim out of the park, and towards downtown. Looking back over her shoulder once in order to see what the officer was doing. The officer chuckled and shook his head. "They always run." He said, turning his feet to sprint to his police car. He slammed the door, put the keys into the ignition, put the car into drive, and slammed on the gas pedal, whirling his car around to pursue the two teens; police siren blaring.

Zim and Gaz kept running, hearing the sound of the police siren come closer and closer. Still holding onto Gaz's arm as to not to lose her in the streets of downtown, they pushed by people who were sleeping on the sidewalks and others who had stopped for a smoke. Surprisingly, there were more people out and about than one would expect, there was even some slight traffic. They heard the siren's blasting louder than ever before and knew by from the wild laughter escaping from Officer 'Pudding's' mouth, that he was right behind them. The teens turned a corner and Zim spotted a green trashcan. _Perfect,_ he thought as he swiftly pushed the trashcan into the street causing a few cars to swerve out of the way, slightly crashing into one another, blocking the police officer from being able to chase the kids by car.

"Zim that was genius!" Gaz called out, causing a condescending smirk to protrude from the Irken's lips. They stopped for a moment to look back, Zim's hand still on her arm, only to discover that 'Pudding' had gotten out of his car and was still hastily pursuing them. Both Zim and Gaz continued to run from the officer, taking different roads to confuse the officer. It wasn't working.

"He's cleverer than Zim thought." Zim panted, the continuous running slowly tiring them out. He needed to think of something quick so they could escape, he needed to do something before they exhausted themselves to death. Zim looked around, trying to find an answer, then something hit him, he knew this street, it was Elsewood Street. _If this is Elsewood Street_, he racked in his brain, _then that means…_ A devious smile formed on his face, he had a plan. I began to sprint faster to gain a few more yards from the officer, causing Gaz to have to pick up speed, unless she wanted to be dragged the rest of the way. Reaching the end of Elsewood Street, he sharply turned left. 'Pudding' sprinted faster, eager to catch the brats. He reached the end of the street as well, turning left and continuing the chase down the new street, little did he know, the two teens were no longer involved in the chase.

Zim and Gaz panted, resting closely against the walls of an alley that Zim had pulled them into just seconds before the officer turned the corner. They were entirely drained of energy, running from the park to downtown wasn't exactly your average gym class. Out of breath, each panted heavily as the rested against the wall of the alley. It wasn't until they both recovered slightly from the escape that Gaz realized how close Zim was to her, his arms holding onto her shoulders; his head lowered down just above her head to conserve energy. He was so close that she felt his breath on her face and it's warmth sent chills down her spine.

"Gaz-human is trembling." Zim pointed out, concerned; he felt her shaking like a leaf in his hands. Looking at his hands, he realized how close he actually was to her and backed off, removing his hands and placing them at his side. The touch of his hands still lingered on Gaz's shoulders. He had been so close; she seemed to miss the distance. Her face reddened once more, though the color was hidden in the dark shadows of the alleyway.

"I'm just out of energy from running, that's all." Gaz opposed, looking sideways so as to hide her blush from Zim even more. She kept eyeing the miscellaneous trashcans and heaps of garbage bags when she noticed something. "Hey, your voice!" Gaz realized.

"What?!" Zim gasped, horrified, "What's wrong with my voice!"

"Nothing you idiot," Gaz replied sweetly, "it's back to normal, that's all." Zim gasped in astonishment, and did a few testing grunts and coughs before speaking.

"So it has!" he said joyfully.

"Though, it was pretty funny when it was all squeaky!" Gaz teased, giving off a few giggles before waiting to hear Zim's reply. It didn't come. All Zim did was stare at her, though see did not know it, he was eyeing her smile. She had been smiling quite often tonight and it soothed him so. Every time she did, it was like butterflies invaded his belly, causing a pleasurable warm and tickling feeling inside of him. It felt so comfortable, so nice. He deeply stared at that smile, and remembered how she had been crying in the park before, how this hurt him so. The pain his chest gave out was unexplainable, it literally ate him away. He suddenly had this feeling of concern for the human female. Why was she crying? He had to know, to destroy the thing that made her cry and wish it was never created; to make sure she would never cry again. Zim walked forward and placed his Irken hands on her shoulders. This caught Gaz by surprise, and she looked up into his contacted eyes, knowing that behind them, hid two ruby gems she longed to see. Staring into his eyes, the world shut off around her, and all she heard was his voice, his slightly deep, serious voice.

"Why were you out in the park?" Zim questioned in a hushed tone, looking deeply into her eyes, as if searching for the answer. Gaz only stared back, searching for the meaning behind the words. Was he really concerned with her well-being? She wasn't sure; after all, he made her feel like complete shit and a total idiot the day before when he saved her. And now here they were, in an alleyway, hiding from the policeman they escaped from. Zim helped her escape.

"Looks like you've been saving me a lot lately." Gaz said, inferring about their escape from the policeman. Zim ignored the statement repeating the question he previously asked.

"Why were you out in the park?" Zim repeated, this time more seriously. Gaz couldn't just shrug this off and say nothing, for she knew Zim would persist, even if she lied to him; so she didn't.

"I was trying to relax," she began looking down again, "I felt bad about what happened yesterday. I mean almost getting you killed and I was taking a calm stroll when I stopped by the park. I hadn't been there in so long so, I went. I was just walking around, and then I started to think about my mother…" She stopped, and her head was lifted up by Zim, tears filling her eyes. He wiped her tears away before they even fell from her face.

"Don't cry." He whispered; his voice and eyes displaying sadness. He continued to wipe her tears until she stopped crying completely.

"I'm so sorry." Gaz said stupidly. Zim was taken aback by the sudden apology, what did she have to apologize for? "I'm sorry for being an idiot and endangering your life by saving mine yesterday." She continued, believing Zim was still angry at her for being an idiot.

"No," Zim answered back, "no, I'm sorry, for being such a jerk and making you feel awful."

"You mean you're not angry?" Gaz questioned, surprised Zim wasn't ranting by how stupid her tiny Earth mind was.

"No. Of course not. I never was." He replied slightly smiling, causing Gaz to smile back, creating that warm feeling to envelop Zim's body once again. Both of them were exceedingly close to one another; their faces at least three or four inches away from one another. Seeing Zim smile, Gaz felt herself blush again thinking they hadn't been this close…before…no, there was one other time…Both of the teens instinctively leaning closer together…Just one other time, right?..._NO! _Gaz's mind shrieked, their lips were almost centemeters from touching when a tone of gaudy beeps and boops emanated from Zim's PAK, causing Zim to abruptly step back. What was he doing? Zim's PAK quickly retracted what seemed to look like a spider leg with a microphone attached to it, a holographic display of Gir appeared in the screen; talk about a cell phone.

"HIIIIIII MASSSSTAAAAA!" Gir squealed, tongue sticking out as he waited for his master's reply.

"What is it now Gir?" Zim said, his tone was a mixture of irritation and relief, his cheeks now a deep emerald green, imaging what could have happened if Gir hadn't interrupted. He wiped the image from his mind, and waited for Gir to answer. Gir paused for a moment, trying to somehow reach into his tiny robot brain to find the reason behind this call. Fortunately, Mini Moose appeared in the screen, he was there to make sure Zim got the reason for this call.

"Squeak, squeak!" squeaked the round stuffed animal.

"What?" Zim questioned, "The Tallests have sent me a message?" This question resulted in a few more squeaking replies from Mini Moose. "They wish to contact me, with a transmission feed?" Mini Moose squeaked in approval. Zim nodded. "I'm on my way home then." Zim replied, turning off the transmission, allowing the appendage to return to his PAK. He looked around and was about to turn around and leave when he remembered something. He looked back at Gaz, who was still standing where she was. Her face was expressionless, but inside, she would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't disappointed. She kept the feeling to herself though, no need to show weakness. Zim stared at her. He couldn't just leave her here, the cop could come back and catch her! His inner invader told him he shouldn't, that he should leave, but he couldn't help it. "Do you want a lift home?" he asked her. Gaz stared at him quizzically.

"What? But you have nothing to drive." Gaz answered back. It was in this moment Zim snapped his fingers, revealing the cloaked Voot Crusier just at the back of the alley. Zim smiled smugly, and Gaz chuckled and began to approach the foreign vehicle. With a glide of his hand, the Voot Cruiser's cockpit opened slowly, allowing Zim access to enter the vehicle. He reached out for Gaz's hand, and without hesitation, she accepted the three-fingered hand, allowing him to assist her as she entered the Voot Cruiser. The vehicle had one seat, but it could easily fit two people in the same seat, so Gaz sat down next to Zim and glanced at all the random colored buttons and pictures. She eyed Zim as he pressed a precise algorithm of buttons, causing the cockpit to close, the Voot Cruiser to start, cloak, and begin its ascent to the sky. Facing the sky, Gaz couldn't help but look at the vast sea of stars; she suddenly had the want to just escape from all the cold harsh worries of Earth and simply fly throughout the universe; the free and wild universe. The thought was nice, but was ended as the cruiser decided to turn around, back towards Earth, and towards her house. She sighed, going back to the world where you're nothing more than the gum under someone's shoe wasn't appealing to her. She continued to look out the glass that separated her from the outside, spotting familiar streets, random squirrels, even the occasional homeless person eating the squirrels. She glanced towards Zim slowly examining him, eyeing him up until her eyes fell upon his lips; she rapidly turned her head away; blushing furiously. She closed her eyes, trying to relax, but she kept seeing the image of her and Zim almost kissing in the alleyway. How close he was, the feeling of his warm breath across her skin, the feeling of his hands and her shoulders-_stop it!_ Her inner self screamed. Her eyes shot opened and she realized that the Voot Crusier was no longer moving, but at her house, floating at her window. How long had they been there anyway? _Please don't let him be staring at me,_ Gaz hoped. Reluctantly, Gaz slowly looked up to Zim, and to her dismay, he was, in fact, staring at her.

Zim tilted his head quizzically. "Gaz, you ok?" he queried. They had been at her house for at least five minutes, he was going to say something before, but he couldn't bring himself up to do so. She captivated him; she was quite striking; all her features were to be…admired. Her appearance, her personality, everything about her seemed flawless to him. She was sitting silently with her eyes closed till they rapidly opened once again revealing those piercing amber eyes. Then she had looked up into his own eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine…Thanks for the ride!" She said quickly and instinctively pressed a red button which opened the cockpit, she climbed out and stepped back through her window and turned around and quietly shut her window. She stared out the window, Zim was still there, after a few moments he reached up his hand and waved at her. Gaz rose up her own hand at waved it back shyly, watching as the alien vehicle flew away, traveling to wherever it pleased. She sort of envied Zim for that, and silently wished that she too could escape from it all. To not have to deal with the scum of the planet, the constant judging from other people, to be free from the cruel unknown emotions that toyed with her soul, to know what she was feeling now. She kicked off her shoes, and collapsed on her bed. Shifting into a comfortable position and slowly drifted into unconscious slumber, her only solace and escape from the world being in her dreams.

**A/N : OH Man! I'm dying. That was a lot of typing! I think I am honestly doing this on purpose to piss you guys off. Is it working? SS signing off! :p btw there is a reason why his voot cruiser was there. Infer from the reading. Here's a hint. HOW did he know the STREET he was on in the first place? Huh? HUH?! Jeez if your that dense, read chapter one again.**


	6. Incoming Transmission

**A/N: I'M SO SORRY GUYS! I WAS AT SCHOOL FROM 7:45 TO 10:30 EACH NIGHT FOR LIKE THREE WEEKS BECAUSE OF OUR MUSICAL! (Which was Beauty and the Beast and I got to fly thanks for asking it went well! ^.^) BUT NOW ITS THANKSGIVING BREAK AND EXPECT LIKE THREE OR MORE CHAPTERS!**

**One more thing…PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT GIR SAYS! If you don't get what he says I will explain it below.**

Zim was steering the Voot Cruiser toward his base; his mind torturing him with the feeling of these unknown emotions. They tugged at him, pushed him; confused him. He didn't understand; all he could think about was her: Gaz. He mentally kicked himself; he was _this close_ from doing something he would regret in that alleyway. What was wrong with him for Irk's sake? He sighed, his mind drifted to her, what was she doing to him? Everything about her; her smile, her laugh, her hair, her body, her attitude, her eyes, those damn spectacular eyes, _everything_ about her made him want to be with her, by her side, to protect her, to…to…His train of thought was interrupted when he realized he returned to his base, landing on the landing pad in his "roof". He pressed a red button, causing the cockpit to open, Zim slowly exited it, commanding the computer to close the "roof as he pressed the elevator button, stepping inside, and pressed yet another button to take him into his base below.

Arriving to his destination, Zim exited the elevator only to be attacked by his robot sidekick: Gir.

"MAAAASSSTAAAA HOME NOOOOOWWWW!" he squealed, jumping on his masters head; sticking his tiny tongue out. "You brought the shippy thing back from its vacation this time!"

"Gir, get off of me." Zim calmly said, urging him to remove the tight grip he had around his head. Gir let go and began running around until Mini Moose gave a chiding squeak causing Gir to stop and frown, slowly walking to the corner and sitting down silently.

"Thanks Mini Moose," Zim sighed, "How are the surveillance cameras?" Mini Moose gave an approving squeak, leading him further into the base to a wall full of screens, each screen playing video feed from throughout the day. Hundreds of screens were flashing many images. Each camera was strategically placed throughout town. From the skools, to downtown, to even the membrane household, each camera was used for gathering vital information for Zim's mission. Zim removed his contacted eyes and wig placing them on a worktable. He scratched one of his antennae's, gazing up into the screen filled wall. Overlooking each feed for anything of use for this assignment. "Anything important or informational…information to report Mini Moose?" Zim asked. A sad squeak emanated from the tiny Moose, signifying that indeed no relevant information was acquired that day. "Damn…" Zim sighed. Again looking up into the screens; looking them over once more. His ruby orbs darted across dozens of screens until resting on one, a feed from the Membrane household. There he saw that this morning at 7:27 Gaz slammed her brother into a wall, no doubt that she was angry because he woke her up. This scene caused a chuckle to escape from Zim's throat, causing Mini Moose to squeak curiously.

Zim suddenly began hearing a blaring sound coming from behind him, the computer quickly gave Zim a heads up on what was happening.

"Incoming transmission from The Massive." The computer boomed, causing Zim to slightly gasp.

"The Tallests," Zim gasped, "I'd forgotten about them." Zim turned away from the screened wall, approaching the transmission screen, prepping himself to make sure he was presentable enough for the Tallests. After he was satisfied with his appearance, he commanded the computer to receive the transmission. The computer obeyed, and a quick flash of the screen started up and an image of Tallests Red and Purple filled the screen. "Greetings my Tallests!" Zim said cheerfully, "To what do I owe the pleasure of being in your presence?" Red sighed and rubbed his temples.

"You are the one who contacted us Zim. Remember? About a week ago? We were…uh…busy and so we couldn't respond to you?" Red reminded Zim.

"Oh yes!" Zim remembered, "I wanted to tell you my next plan in order to enslave the human race!" Zim said seething out the last word like it was some disgusting disease. He began to rant about some ridiculous plan that involved 100,000 tons of bacon and an Irken hyper canon. Red and Purple had heard ridiculous plans by Zim before but this one was, by far, one of the worst ones. Zim continued his 'ingenious' plan, "Then I'm going to take the other half of the bacon and…"

"Zim the objective of an invader is to land on the planet, blend in with the inhabitants, and retrieve information on their weaknesses!" Purple interrupted. "The destruction and enslavement are for the armada to deal with!" Red nodded in approval of Purple's comment and added on to it.

"You've been on the planet for, what is it, six-seven years now? Surely by now you must have some information about their weaknesses?" Red added. Zim couldn't help but be speechless, he was stunned. He thought for sure the Tallests would like this plan; he had planned it out for over two months! Zim realized they were waiting for an answer and began to feel nervous. He glanced around the room and then quickly looked back at the wall full of feed screens. Searching it, he found a mailman being assaulted by a dog. He swung his head back to the transmission screen, smiling sheepishly.

"D-dogs! Y-yes! The p-pathetic humans a-are a-f-fraid and are o-often attacked b-by them!" Zim hurriedly said. _How pathetic!_ Zim thought, _I'm stuttering like a fool!_ Tallest Purple sighed and shook his head.

"Zim I'm sure we are going to need _more_ information than that. Right Red?" Purple said noticing his partner was staring at their transmission screen. Puzzled Purple stared strangely at Red. "Red? Red? What's up?" Purple questioned, moving a hand across his face to get his attention. Red, unknowing to Purple was staring at a strange image behind Zim. Red cocked his head as if to try to get a better look at the image. He stared and saw a violet haired human-pig-filth punch another human-pig, who had dark hair and glasses, in the stomach for touching her skull-and-cross-bone notebook. Red gave a slight chuckle and pointed to the screen behind Zim.

"Zim," Red began, "What is that entertaining being?" Zim tilted his head to the side in confusion, Purple did the same.

"Huh?" both Zim and Purple questioned. Red again raised his arm and fiercely pointed at the screen.

"Behind you Zim! Who is that behind you on the screen punching the glasses-wearing-child?" Red demanded. Zim's eyes widened and he automatically knew who Red was talking about without even looking at the screen, praying that Red wasn't talking about who he thought he was talking about, Zim turned slowly to observe the screen, his prayers were unanswered as he saw the magnificent Gaz now kick her brother in the groin, sending the poor sap to the floor, tears streaming into his eyes. Zim examined her radiance and clenched his jaw, not wanting to answer his Tallests question.

"Zim, I'm waiting for my answer…" Red said impatiently, crossing both of his arms and tapping his three fingers on his arm. _What are you doing dumbass? Fucking turn around and answer your TALLEST! _ Zim's inner Invader commanded. _I don't want to…_Zim thought back, _why does he have to know who she is? It's not like it concerns him…_ Zim's inner Invader was starting to get really tired of Zim's fucking sass and screamed back at him. _Know your place you worm! The Tallests are above you! You must obey them! You. Are. An. IN-FUCKING-VADER! This statement brought _Zim out of his strange daze and turned back to face his Tallests. He took in a breath and gave his Tallest his answer.

"That, my Tallest, is the human-female known as Gaz." Zim replied, feeling a bit upset that he gave this information out, what right did he have to know? Red smiled and nodded thoughtfully, seemingly contemplating some sort of idea. When Red was satisfied he looked at Zim questionably.

"What is your connection with her?" Red inquired, narrowing his eyes at Zim. _Why do you have so many questions about Gaz?_ Zim wanted to reply but he firmly held his tongue.

"She goes to what the species here called hi skool with me, not much else; her brother though, Dib, has tried to inhibit the continuation of my mission." Zim replied simply, it wasn't like he was lying; he just wasn't going into detail about her. Red rubbed his chin thoughtfully, thinking further, Red eventually gave a smile, his idea finally pieced together.

"This Gaz-human as you say, can be very useful to us Zim, you should be-friend her and gain her trust." Red explained. Zim was astonished, he called Gaz by the pet name _HE_ gave her, and he was a bit upset and agitated when he used it. He didn't like the sound of her name on his tongue. "Once you have that she'll reveal the weaknesses of the pathetic planet you're on! Zim this plan is perfect. As Tallest I…," Red stated before pulling Purple closer to the screen, "We command that you gain this human's trust to get her to give us the vital information needed to control that pathetic planet!" Zim's eyes were going wide, his mouth gaping slightly. Red continued, "You must do this Zim before our arrival, from which by now will be about three months in Universe time, whatever that is in Earth time, do this Zim and we'll appoint you to General of the Irken army!" Purple gasped as Red ended his decree.

"What?" Both him and Zim said in unison.

"Zim, we are counting on you!" Red saluted the invader. Before Zim could even reply, the transmission was ended. Leaving Zim to stare at the screen, bewildered by the strange and urgent command his Tallests gave him. Zim blinked in amazement, him? The General of the Irken Empire? General Zim? It sure had a nice ring to it. Zim was speechless, and though he thought he should be happy, but there was something holding him back. What was this strange feeling? Guilt? He looked back at the screen feeds and found a live feed of Gaz sleeping soundly, peacefully. Even asleep she was beautiful, her glorious hair fanning out on her pillow, some loose strands landing on her flawless porcelain skin. Zim walked toward the screens, reaching up to that particular feed of the sleeping Gaz, letting his hand rest on it. At some point during this new assignment, he was going to have to betray her. And he didn't know why, but after acknowledging that, he felt a stinging pain brew in his chest. Betray her? It simply hurt to think about it. _Three Universe months? That's only four weeks here! _Zim thought. His hand slid off the screen, returning to his side. Zim lowered his head to the ground; he clenched his hands. Only four weeks until his mission was over, before betraying Gaz... Zim shook his head, he was an Invader, and the Empire came first, before him…before anyone…anyone…His eyes tightly shut. How was he going to be able to do this without this to her with this, awful, awful pain in his chest?

Upon the Massive Red began walking away from the transmission room, Purple trailing closely behind him. Red was heading to his chambers and Purple was absolutely shocked by Red's quick decision in regarding Zim's mission. He tried to ask a question to Red, which he ignored. Purple sped up to Red and grabbed his shoulder to turn him around.

"Wait! Why did you tell Zim to do that? And what happens if he is successful? Are we really going to make him the General of the Irken Empire?" Purple queried. Red simply scoffed, shrugging Purple's arm of his shoulder. An evil smile formed on his face, giving Purple a scare.

"What? Did you really think I would give that fool a position as mighty as that?! Of course not! Don't you see? After we seize that puny planet, all we need to do is play along with him until we don't need him anymore. Once that happens we can do what we want with him, even kill him! We'll finally be rid of that idiotic Zim!" He gave out an evil cackle, causing Purple to not know whether to be pleased or frightened, so he decided to chuckle a bit with him. "And that human-female is intriguing as well…" Red smirked.

"What was that?" Purple asked.

"Nothing," Red replied, opening the sliding doors of his chamber, "Nothing at all…" he finished as his dark smile soon disappeared behind the doors.

**Did you get what Gir said? Huh? Did ya? No? Pfft, well, Gir says that because Zim left the Voot Cruiser there when he found Gaz in the rain, which is why Zim knew the street in the last chapter…inception bitches. By the way I AM A CRONA X MAKA SUPPORTER!**

**Me: Red what the FUCK are you talking about? What are you going to do?**

**Red: Nothing, you'll find out soon enough.**

**Me: Red, tell me!**

**Red: No!**

**Me: Bitch, don't make me bitch slap you!**

**Red: Fuck you!**

***Ding* *ding* Round 1!**


	7. D-date!

**A/N: Told ya I'd make more than one chapter… enjoy!**

"Fuck!" Gaz cursed, accidently sticking her mascara in her eye, causing it to smudge just below her right eye. "Damn it…" she cursed again, snatching the makeup remover, pouring it onto a paper towel, gently rubbing it under her eye. _What is wrong with me? Why am I so nervous?_ She thought, finishing cleaning up her mistake, reaching for the mascara to re-due her mascara. _It's not a big deal, it's just Bloaty's. I'm only going to Bloaty's…with Zim. _With that, she accidently knocked over the makeup remover, spilling it. She gasped and quickly fumbled around with it, bringing it upright and setting it down on her dresser. She reached for the paper towels again, taking out around seven sheets, tearing them off roughly and placing them down on the spill. "Shhhhhhhiiiiiiiittttttt…" Gaz angrily seethed out. She shook her head and after cleaning the spill, threw it in her trashcan. How did it ever come to this?

Gaz sighed and remembered the spiraling events that had been happening all week. It had all started on that Monday. Oh how Gaz hated Monday's, but this Monday was…in a word…unusual…Of the Zim kind. Well, it wasn't unusual for Zim to act strange; I mean he's an alien, you can't get stranger than that, but he was acting…different. He was hanging around her silently all day. It made her a bit nervous, and from other students staring, she was getting embarrassed too. Why was he staring at her, when did he turn into such a stalker? A few times it looked like he was going to say something to her, but he soon shied off. It was… sort of cute in a way…But still weird! Tuesday was no different, but that time he sat down with her at lunch time. This had caused Dib to gap in astonishment, but he wasn't the only one. Gaz too, was bewildered at the sudden action. Dib tried to shout out protests, but Gaz warned him to shut up, or else a world of pain would envelop him. She expected something more of him than just sitting there. She glanced at him a few times to see what he was doing, yet nothing. Just sitting there; his presence made her a bit uneasy, what was with him this week? The rest of lunch went by without him saying a word. The bell rang; he got up, and left, no words at all. Why was he so confusing?

On Wednesday, it got better. He began speaking to her, the first time she had heard his voice in a few days. It was, somehow, relieving to her. They walked to class together, talking about almost everything it was if they couldn't run out of things to say! At lunch, they once again sat together, Gaz flipping off the gaping Dib. Dib wanted to just stand up and sit at a different table, but he wasn't going to leave his baby sister alone with some, deranged, evil alien! Zim and Gaz continued to talk while Dib ate in silence. They talked about the new incoming Game Slave, The Game Slave seven! Who knew Zim liked videogames?

"Of course Zim likes the games of video! They improve the coordination of one's mind! Plus they are…very entertaining…" Zim had said with a deep smile. This had caused Gaz's cheeks to flush a slight pink, but not enough to be noticed by the two boys at her table. She slightly giggled, which caused Dib to shoot his head up from his meal in surprise. Did she just giggle? His demon of a sister just giggled? He suppressed a growl, what was Zim up to? Dib suddenly lost his appetite and stood up angrily and walked over to the Skool's trashcan to throw away his food. Gaz scowled at him.

"Don't mind him Zim," Gaz comforted, "He's just on his period." Zim gave a confused stare, causing Gaz to chuckle in response. She forgot, Zim didn't _know_ about these things. Zim started to chuckle along with her, their combined chuckles causing some people around them to stare. When Gaz noticed this, she gave them the death glare, causing the other students to quickly resume their boring, ordinary lives. She looked back at Zim, his laugh was soothing to her, even if it was of an evil variety. He looked so nice when he laughed. _He's so gorgeous!_ Gaz had thought. _Wait, did I just say that?_ She had wondered. The bell rang and her thoughts were interrupted, the rest of their classes were on opposite sides of the Skool and Gaz walked alone to the rest of her classes after a swift goodbye from Zim. She didn't want to admit it, but she somewhat missed the green alien, though they were in the same building; she missed the talks that they were having. She could get used to this.

Thursday was exciting! Forget Skool, sure they had a great time talking, but they had decided to hang out with each other after Skool. They decided to go to the arcade, which Zim was skeptical at first, but after Gaz gave him some encouragement, Zim accepted. They played a variety of games such as PacMan and Mortal Combat, but by far the most fun was Dance Dance Revolution. That day was Twirlin' Thursday, a Dance Dance Revolution competition, in pairs, each team would face against each other until one was left standing. Gaz and Zim were unstoppable, even on expert the two danced perfectly not missing a step. They wiped out their opponents, crushing them into the dust. Zim laughed at their feeble attempts to defeat him and Gaz. They did so well that not only did they win the contest but they defeated the all-time high score set by Gaz's enemy Iggins, causing a mental breakdown from the strange child. With the new high score, they both got their names engraved into the arcade's hall of fame. When they both returned to the Membrane residence, they both were laughing and smiling from the events of that night.

"Zim that was so much fun!" Gaz had said.

"Yeah! Especially when you punched that Iggins child in the face when he tried to distract us from dancing!" Zim had added. They both laughed at the wonderful memory. When the laughing had subsided, it was only silence. Gaz looked at Zim and saw him open his mouth to say something, but he closed his mouth. She wanted to know what he was going to say so she stayed put.

"Zim?" Gaz ushered. Zim looked up to her with those contacted eyes, the eyes peering into her soul. She waited for him to answer her. Zim scratched his wig and began to look around, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Gaz…uh…I was wondering, maybe…if we could go somewhere sometime…soon." Zim slowly blurted out. There was no waiting for his answer.

"Bloaty's. Tomorrow. Pick me up at 8:00." She quickly answered, opening her front door and hastily retreated inside. She then sighed and slid down her front door, cheeks turning a crimson red.

And now here she was. Messing up her makeup over one stupid date. _It's not a date!_ Gaz shouted at herself. _I am just going to Bloaty's with a friend_, Gaz told herself applying some lip-gloss. _A friend you like_… "NO!" Gaz countered, giving a defensive growl. Gaz twirled her hair and looked herself in the mirror. _Is this a bit much? After all it is just Bloaty's_, Gaz wondered when a knock from the door startled her thoughts. She gave a quick gasp, grabbed her purse that she barely used, and quickly ran downstairs to answer the door. Thankfully, she was the only one home, Dib being at one of his comical paranormal clubs, her brother wouldn't be there to bother her, or Zim. She took a breath before turning the doorknob, what would he think of her outfit? She opened the door and saw Zim, he had ditched his Invader uniform and was wearing blue jeans, with a pair of black and white Van's, and a white button-up shirt which he had buttoned up all the way to the collar. Gaz stared at him quizzically; she couldn't believe he was wearing something other than his uniform.

"I heard human's dress differently for this kind of thing." He said, as if knowing her question. Zim took in with what he was seeing, Gaz was clothed in Black skinny jeans, a glistening silver top, where there are no sleeves and holes in the side, thankfully, her sides were covered by her black undershirt, she also wore a pair of silver Converse to match her shirt. Her hair was, as always, incredible; it perfectly draped her shoulders shining in the last bits of light left. She was stunning and he couldn't take his eyes off her. He was lost in thought when he heard Gaz chuckle, causing him to come out of his daze.

"What?" Zim asked, panicked. Gaz held up her hand to her mouth, stifling another laugh.

"Your collar is buttoned _way_ to far up!" she giggled. Approaching him and lifted her hands up to his neck. She began to slowly unbutton his shirt her heart beat increasing at a faster pace each moment. She felt her hands brush pass his skin once, making her cheeks feel hot. His skin was soft; like silk. It was strange because it was hairless too, only adding to how soft and flawless his skin was. She unbuttoned four out of the twelve buttons, exposing his neck, and a bit of his chest. Gaz gave out a shaky sigh, her hand still on his chest.

"Uh, Gaz?" Zim questioned. Gaz's eyes went wide and she stepped back, noticing that she was _really_ in his personal space.

"Sorry," she apologized, "L-let's get going!" She said taking Zim's arm and leading him forward. They walked to Bloaty's commenting on the falling leaves, the fun they had yesterday, and other topics until they reached the greasy restaurant. Zim held the door open for his companion, after nodding in thanks, they both entered the restaurant. They took a booth near the kitchen so that they could see their pizza being made. They ordered an extra cheesy pizza, since Zim couldn't eat meat, and watched in awe as their pizza was cooked to perfection. Zim revealed that this was going to be his first time eating Earth food, and he was slightly nervous. Gaz gave him words of encouragement as their pizza approached. The pimply waiter placed their pizza down and quickly left. Gaz dove in quickly snatching the best three slices for herself, the smell of the cheese circulating between the two teens. Zim poked at a piece experimentally, it wasn't burning him; a good sign. He picked up a slice and placed it on his plate. He sniffed at it, and lifted it to his face. He eyed Gaz and observed her eating the pizza; he mimicked her movements and put the pizza slightly in his mouth. Gaz watched in anticipation as Zim bit down on the slice, tearing it off and began to chew slowly, eyes shut, preparing for the worst. When nothing happened, Zim was pleased to see that the pizza was delicious! He made a sound of delight and Gaz laughed as he horked down the slice, eagerly grabbing another. Gaz didn't want to admit it, but she was really having a good time! Zim was actually a fun person to be around with! It was hard to believe that he was just a silent stalker on Monday, and now he was this great friend…friend?

"Uh…Zim?" Gaz suddenly asked when Zim was in mid-slice. Zim stopped and looked at her strangely, her tone had completely changed.

"Yes, Gaz?" He answered slowly, her new tone catching him off guard. Gaz lowered her head and played with her hands under the table. What would he say if she asked him? She was giving up the courage, but a glancing at him she saw he was smiling; patiently waiting for her to speak.

"Zim, are…a-are we friends?" she sputtered. Zim looked at her; stunned.

"Of course we are!" he answered with a smile. This made Gaz smile, sending a flutter through Zim's insides. They continued eating and talking, all the while Zim couldn't take his eyes off her. He remembered how she was unbuttoning his shirt earlier. He thought his chest was going to explode at the rate his squiddly spooch was pumping. He had shivered when her skin brushed up against his him, and he was thankful that she hadn't seemed to notice. And when she gave out that shaky sigh, he swore his legs turned into jelly.

When they were finished eating, they both stood up and left the restaurant, Zim paid of course. The walk back to Gaz's house was lovely, the moonlight shown bright giving Gaz's eyes a striking look, Zim was awed by the sight. How beautiful could a filthy human be? He felt a pang in his chest, _use her to find out about the weaknesses of the humans_, his Tallests had said. The rest of the walk home was silent, but not an awkward silence. It was, peaceful. They approached Gaz's front door, go up each step to her door. Gaz turned to Zim and smiled.

"W-would you like to come in?" Gaz asked him, trying to hide her blush behind her hair. _This could be it,_ Zim thought, _I could ask about the secrets of this planet_…Zim opened his mouth, ready to say yes, ready to collect the information his Tallests needed, but his mouth closed on him. He couldn't do it.

"No, I…I have to work on something for Gir, his…his uh…sensory chip is broken." Zim stated calmly, hoping Gaz's bullshit radar was broken.

"Oh…Okay." Gaz said, almost sounding disappointed. At first, there was a awkward silence that was ended by Gaz quickly bringing in Zim into her arms. Zim was mortified, what was she doing? His squiddly spooch almost gave out right then and there. She was hugging him, Zim had read about this once, but never actually had one before. He was slightly frightened, but gradually brought his arms up and around her; returning the hug. After a few moments, they separated, looking into each other's eyes, words escaping each of them. Gaz found her voice first.

"Thanks for taking me out, I-I had a great time," Gaz said nervously, "Let's do it again sometime!" She opened her door and stepped inside, this time turning around and then waved at Zim. "See ya later!" she chimed. Closing the door behind her, she ran up to her room, running to her window, she gazed out, seeing Zim slowly walk home, turning towards her window and waving her her. Her cheeks went a bright red, and she waved back, thankful that he was too far to see her blush. Once he was gone from sight, she crashed into her bed, kicking her shoes off and began to cuddle one of her pillows. Slightly putting her face into her pillow, she silently went through the events that had just occurred. She couldn't believe it! She hugged him! She really hugged him! She realized that she had never hugged anyone before…it felt…good. She dreamily sighed and smiled into her pillow. _Hugging, huh? Hmm…_she wondered softly…_I could get used to that…_as she slowly drifted to sleep.

**A/N: Aww, how cute :3. Damn, I'm good. As I said, more this week guys! Tell me how you like it, I need to know if you guys are liking the story! Expect more drama hookers *puts sunglasses on* Peace out guys! BTW 'hooker' to me is a tone of endearment! If I call you a hooker, it means I like you!**


	8. The Time Is Now

**A/N: Here ya go, number tres this week!**

"Gaz, I…I need to talk to you." Dib said with a hint of concern, barging into Gaz's bedroom, uninvited. Gaz was sitting in the chair she kept near her vanity, finishing up her makeup before she was rudely interrupted by her brother. She looked at her brother through the mirror, and scowled, her eyes hidden behind her bangs as she lowered her head.

"It's not polite to barge into people's bedrooms without knocking, asshole!" she growled, suddenly turning and throwing an empty can of Poop soda at his head. Dib tried to react, but because of low hand eye coordination, was the victim of yet another assault by his sister. The can was thrown at a great velocity, causing the can to hit his forehead with great force. A slight bump formed on his forehead, causing him to reach up and rub the wound thoughtfully.

"Ow! Gaz! That hurt!" Dib whined; whimpering a few times. After he rubbed the bump once more, he looked up see his sibling staring at him; quizzically. Her look said, "So why the fuck are you in my room?" so Dib answered the question before she asked it. "I… Uh, need to talk to you, Gaz." Dib calmly said, approaching her cautiously, fearful that the next step could be his last. Gaz sighed, there was no escaping this; she was going to have to actually speak to her brother today. How painful. She had been trying to avoid him for the past couple of weeks in order not to be given some sort of wild lecture from him. However, she did _live _with him, so this was almost unavoidable. But why now? She was late to hang out with Zim enough as it was; she turned around from her chair and crossed her arms and legs, giving an impatient look. _This had better not take long,_ she thought.

"What?" she asked. Dib stopped in his footsteps, satisfied with the distance between him and Gaz, the door conveniently opened in case an escape attempt was necessary. He was concerned for his baby sister recently, she was out late every day and he no longer saw her at lunch. He observed her for a moment, how dolled up she was, she was working hard on her appearance lately, which only increased his concern with her. And he _knew_ who was causing all of these changes to occur in his beloved sister. Gaz cleared her throat, annoyed that Dib was stupidly standing there, this caused Dib to remember the reason he was here.

"Gaz, you've been hanging out with Zim for the past three weeks! Why are you doing it?! Don't you understand what he is capable of Gaz!? He could hurt you! I refuse to believe that he wants to be your friend! He could be brainwashing you, or, or maybe planting mechanical weevils in your brain! He wants to destroy the Earth, Gaz! He's the enemy! He's an alien! An ugly, green, cruel, vile, and stupid alien!" Dib hysterically shouted. Gaz felt her fists clench. How could he say those things? He had no right! Her anger for her brother finally reached its peak right then and there. She growled harshly, and stood up, her violent amber eyes were the essence of anger, burning with hatred. Dib stepped back and tried to make it for the door, but Gaz lunged at him, pushing him up against the wall. She roared, lifting a fist, ready to punch the daylights out of the scythe haired boy. Dib let out a frightened whimper; he knew he was going to regret this. Gaz stared her hateful eyes into his fearful ones.

"How _DARE _you! Don't you _EVER_ say anything about Zim! Because you're wrong! You don't know him. What right do you have to say those things? You don't know anything about him!" she shrieked at her brother, her anger was causing her to shake and her fist shook with anticipation, she swung her fist at her brother, causing him to shut his eyes; bracing himself for the pain that was about to envelop him. Her fist stopped, barely touching his nose. Dib opened his eyes cautiously, seeing the fist that almost had caused his destruction at the tip of his nose. A bead of sweat formed on his brow. Gaz lowered her fist, but pulled his shirt down, bringing her brothers face closer down so that his eyes could meet hers so he could understand what he was about to hear. Gaz squinted and very carefully warned her brother: "The next time you want to talk shit about Zim, I'm going to stick your mouth so far up your asshole that the bile you produce will melt your insides!" She shoved Dib to the side, grabbing her Game Slave 6 and exited her bedroom, she headed down the stairs and made it to her door, approaching it, she reached for the knob but stopped. Without turning around, she shouted at Dib once more, "And you can't tell me who I can be friends with Dib! I decide for myself!" With that, she twisted the doorknob, stepped outside and slammed the door. Dib sighed and rubbed the bump on his forehead.

Gaz began walking to Zim's house-base, whatever you want to call it. At first she was incredibly furious; people who were walking on the same side of the sidewalk quickly retreated to the other side of the street. After a few minutes, she had calmed down a bit. _Zim? Hurt me? Never, _she thought to herself quietly. Zim wasn't any of the things Dib had said, was he? He was green and somewhat of an idiot, but she didn't mind that. Vile and cruel? Maybe a little, but so was she! That's what they had in common, and she liked that. Dib was just over-exaggerating, what did he know anyway? He didn't know the Zim she knew. The Zim that loved to hang out and play videogames with her, the Zim that helped her out with her Chemistry homework, the Zim that bought her pizza, the Zim that would sit with her in the park and would talk to her for hours on end about each other's lives, interests, hopes, dreams. The Zim who could make her forget this horrific world with those wonderful, beautiful ruby eyes. Dib was definitely wrong, Zim wasn't ugly; he was, in her eyes, attractive. Dib was wrong about Zim. Period. Gaz looked up, escaping from her inner rant, to realize she was at Zim's door, she smiled slightly, finally, someplace where she felt comfortable. Gaz lifted her arm and reached for the door; she knocked, she waited. After a few moments, Zim answered the door with a smile, pleased to see her.

"There you are! You're a little late, Zim was beginning to worry!" Zim teased, stepping aside and letting her enter. He wasn't wearing his disguise like he usually did; Gaz liked it better when he was his true self around her anyway. Gaz walked past Zim, taking off her coat and throwing it on the floor; finding a nice spot on his couch to sit, she flipped on her Game Slave 6 and sat, waiting for it to warm up.

"Sorry, if my brother wasn't such a dumbass I would have been here sooner." Gaz sighed. Zim closed the door, and called Gir into the room. Gir rapidly shot out from the kitchen, running to hug the returning visitor. He jumped into her lap, and hugged her tightly.

"Gazzy's back again! Masta missed you dearly!" Gir squealed, causing Gaz to make a confused face. Zim was frightened by his little robot's outburst; he quickly grabbed ahold of him, and set him down on the ground.

"G-Gir! Go put Gaz's coat away! N-now!" he stuttered. Gir saluted his master, grabbing the coat, lifting it above his head and running away to the kitchen, diving down the garbage elevator. Zim sat down on the couch, cheeks portraying the slightest hint of emerald in them. He rubbed his neck nervously. "Heh, sorry about that; you know Gir: always going about on about random nonsense." Zim chuckled. Gaz giggled and gave a nod in approval of the statement. They talked for a while, about her idiot of a brother, her successful dad, the change in weather recently; November weather was a bitch to deal with at some points. How one day it could be warm and the next day you were literally freezing your ass off. Deciding what to wear was a guess and check method. They continued their conversation until Gaz got bored.

"Come on! Let's play Vampire Piggy Hunter 5 now!" Gaz whined, poking Zim in the chest playfully. Zim chuckled, rubbing his chest.

"Okay! Ha ha, okay," he laughed, "but first." Zim's PAK took out a box wrapped in a bright ruby wrapping paper and a crimson bow to match. He took the present in his hands, smiled down on it, looked up towards Gaz, and slowly handed her the red box, "Here". Gaz was taken aback by this sudden generosity. She reached for it and held it in her hands. She brought it to her and stared at it. She was completely surprised and curious, _what could it be?_ She wondered. "Go on Gaz, open it." She heard Zim whisper, but his words didn't reach her for a moment. She was utterly shocked; this was the first gift she had ever received from him. She carefully removed the wrapping paper from the present, placing it on the floor. Under the paper, revealed a box, she gently removed the top of the box and gasped. Eyes wide, she placed her hand over her mouth and gawked at what was in the box.

"The Game Slave 7!?" Gaz gasped, taking it out of the packaging and looking it over, and admiring its glory. It was jet black with the Game Slave logo 'GS' engraved into the front, it was smooth and glossy, it was magnificent. "Zim! How did you get this? It only came out yesterday; wasn't it 350 dollars!?" Gaz jubilantly asked. Zim smirked, satisfied with her reaction and himself.

"Zim has his ways." he stated, but wasn't prepared for what was to come next. She hugged him; she rapidly brought her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulders. The contact was unexpected, sure he had been hugging her for the past few weeks, but those were different. This hug was like the first hug they shared, the hug they had after eating at Bloaty's that night. This hug brought the same feelings that the first one had; that warm feeling that tickled his insides and sped up his squiddly spooch. He felt the warmth that she brought to him; he felt her warm, sweet breath on his green skin, even though he was warm he shivered.

"Thank you, Zim." She whispered, causing his eyes go from surprised to sad. This was it, this was the moment; he would ask her now: the code. For the three weeks he had been prying into her life. To her it seemed harmless, that he just wanted to know more about her life, Zim knew better. He had been trying to get information about the Earth's weaknesses. The information about her life seemed useless, until one day she had told him about her father and his influences on human society. Her father was actually the most influential person on the planet, every nation valued his opinion. In fact, her father controlled most of life's essentials on Earth. He had built machines, that he nick-named God's Creations, that controlled the electricity and water supply that the entire world had. She mentioned that once when she was little, her moron of a brother shut down the machines, causing the whole world to plunge into chaos until the power was restored by her ingenious father. When this happened, her father created a security code so that no one would be able to ever do that again. The only people who knew of the code were her father and herself. The only reason she knew was because her father wasn't as 'ingenious' as he thought, leaving the code on the coffee table one day when she was younger. She figured if she ever wanted to destroy the human race she would have a simple way of making them suffer.

Zim knew that the moment mentioned the code, that that was how the Irken race was going to take over the dirty planet. It was simple, attack when the humans are defenseless! It was perfect! He had told this information to his Tallests and they were pleased, they demanded that Zim continue to gain Gaz's trust until she gave the code up! The sake of the mission was in Zim's hands. And this was it now, hugging her now, the same sort of hug as their first one, it was time; to ask her, to betray her, to lie to her. The past few weeks had been the greatest of his life, Zim never thought he could have such a great time with anyone before, to be as comfortable as he was with Gaz. She made him feel safe, wanted. It had been such a wonderful time. Now it was over, a pain began to sting in his chest. The Armada was to arrive tomorrow. The time had come; the fun had come to an end.

"Gaz?" Zim asked silently, causing Gaz to look at him, the happy tone he had earlier no longer there. She looked at him quizzically.

"What is it Zim?" she inquired; she noticed that her arms were still around Zim, so she let go, her arms retreating to her sides. Zim observed her; she was so pretty, her amber eyes, filled with concern, gazed into his ruby ones. Zim felt his squiddly spooch ache. He had been shoving something away; burying so it never saw the light of day; a feeling, no an event that happened not so long ago, on one very, rainy night. Zim closed his eyes; his squiddly spooch had enough pain as it was. He buried the thought even further, wanting it to never rise again.

"You trust me, don't you Gaz?" he questioned her. She nodded her head slowly confused by the strange and sudden question.

"Yes, Zim yes. I trust you more than anyone else in the world; in the universe." She answered with that beautiful concerned voice he had grown so accustomed to hearing. That statement made his squiddly spooch tinge with pain. She trusted him more than anyone? Anyone in this wide, vast universe? He couldn't believe she put so much trust in him, and now he was going to abuse that trust; that friendship.

"Then, can…c-can I know the code to God's Creations?" Zim asked his voice barely above a whisper. He looked down and dared not to look at Gaz, he feared that she would leave and that all the hard work he had done these weeks would be a waste, he silently waited her reply. Gaz on the other hand was caught off guard by this question. Where had it come from? She knew she mentioned it about a week or so ago, but why was he asking this now? Why did he want to know? She decided she needed to find out.

"Why?" she queried, keeping her tone very gentle, it soothed him. Zim brought his head back up and met her eyes with sad ones. And now, Zim knew; now he would betray her; abuse the trust she placed in him.

"Because," he replied softly, reaching his hand out and putting it on hers; causing Gaz to blush slightly. She kept her eyes on Zim's the whole time, she didn't move an inch even when he got closer to her, when his face got closer to her own, when she felt her cheeks get hotter she didn't move to even hide the blush. She only stared into his glorious, stunning eyes. "Because," he continued, "if anything were to happen to you," he stopped gaining more confidence and moving closer to her, "I would want to plunge the world into chaos." He whispered to her.

"3-8-1-4-1-4-6-9-9-7." She whispered back, her eyes half lidded. She hadn't meant to reveal it, but Zim; his eyes just took it right out of her. Those gorgeous eyes looked right through her. She couldn't fight it, she would do anything for him; he was her best friend, her only friend. No, that wasn't why she told him. She knew that now. She knew why she had trusted him with this information, although she knew she had been denying herself for weeks now, trying to give excuses, but not now, not anymore. She finally understood what she had been feeling for what seemed like forever now. Gaz couldn't hear her inner self anymore, she was now in control over her own emotions, she was in control now, and didn't need to dissemble her emotions anymore. She felt a wave of relief envelop her as a huge weight seemed to almost dissipate from her chest. She felt herself inch closer and closer to Zim, her lips closing the distance between his.

Suddenly, Gir flew into the room landing in between Gaz and his master. To avoid getting injured, Gaz snapped back, although she avoided any harm, she was utterly _pissed_ for the…interruption.

"What is it Gir?!" she impatiently shouted. The tiny robot looked up at her at smiled, his cyan eyes closed with happiness.

"This thingy keeps makin' noises that make me wanna dance!" Gir told her, showing her an I-Phone, _her _I-Phone. She snatched it from the robot's clutches, typing in the password and grazed over the notifications. Over fifteen missed calls and twenty-five text messages. Gaz sighed, they were all from Dib. She knew that if she didn't leave now, he would _literally_ break down Zim's door to come and "rescue" her. And he wouldn't be too happy if he saw his baby sister making out with an alien. That last thought made Gaz giggle a bit. She sighed and looked back at Zim, who was beginning to regret not locking Gir up somewhere today.

"I have to leave," Gaz said, giving Zim a quick hug and stood up to leave. Gir handed her her coat, she put it on, and after a few steps towards the door; she stopped. She couldn't just leave; she wanted to tell him, but not now. She wanted it to be special; she wanted to prepare for it. _Soon, I'll tell him soon_, she thought to herself. She turned around and graced Zim with a stunning smile. "But I would like to see you tomorrow!" She said more of like a statement than a question. Zim's squiddly spooch lurched at that smile. He knew he couldn't see her tomorrow, for his mission was going end tomorrow, he would shut down the Earth, leaving it defenseless for the Armada to crush. But that damned smile, this damned girl was like a drug, a drug that he couldn't get enough of. She ate him away. She made him defenseless, he was weak when she was around him, he couldn't even think straight when she was with him. It was hopeless to escape her. He was trapped; all he wanted was her smile. To keep her smiling, so he kept lying.

"Yes, that's fine. I'll see you tomorrow." He told her, trying to keep himself together as he continued to lie to her face, her perfect, beauteous face. She smiled again, and then headed out the door, and headed home. Zim sat there for a few minutes, head in his hands, he couldn't believe it, he did it, he betrayed her. _What's done is done,_ his inner Invader hissed, _there's no going back_ _now._ Zim knew that his inner Invader was right. He sluggishly got up from the couch, and through the elevator, went into his base. He contacted his Tallests through the transmission screen. They eagerly answered and listened to Zim's status, how he now had the code and by this time tomorrow, Earth would be under the Irken Empire's rule. When transmission had ended, Zim stared into the blank, black screen for a while, until his emotions filled him to the brim, causing him to collapse, kneeling in defeat over his emotions; strange alien-like tears began to fill his eyes, dropping to the floor. "I'm sorry, Gaz." He softly cried.

**A/N: Wasn't that good? I thought so. Reviews are 'preciated my peeps. Expect some more soon but now it's back to once per week :( Maybe two if you're lucky! B) Peace out hooker's! **


	9. Sunset

**A/N:This is for you guys...**

She was so ecstatic, so bubbly! Gaz grabbed a black, long-sleeved shirt from her closet, thrusting it against her body. She gazed at her full length mirror, cocking her head to the side, giving the shirt a hum of thought. She launched her arms back into her closet, rummaging through it for something else. Taking out a blood-red, low cut shirt, she did the same motion she did with the first shirt; observing the shirt, wondering what would be good to wear today. She looked over the shirt again; they weren't what she was looking for. She tossed both shirts to the side, both landing in different spots on her carpeted floor. Gaz took a deep breath and rubbed her temples, what was she going to wear? After a few breaths, it hit her. _Of course_, she thought to herself, diving back towards her closet, she pushed a few pairs of shoes and some jeans out of the way to reveal a white box. Opening the box, it revealed a leather jacket, black as night, decorated with silver. There was a silver zipper that went diagonally across her breast, silver studs that dazzled across the shoulders of the jacket, the neck cuffs fanned out; making sharp points at the end. Light reflected off the leather, giving it a mysterious luster. _Perfect,_ she thought to herself, slipping it on over her black undershirt. She turned to face the mirror and hummed in approval, but she noticed something was missing…what was it? She looked into the mirror harder, as if she was expecting an answer from it. Gaz snapped in enlightenment, and then walked over to her bed; tossing the covers away to expose what she was looking for. Her skull necklace laid next to her pillow, it must have fallen of while she was asleep, she was glad she found it though, since most of her socks were victims of being lost from sleeping in her bed. She put on the necklace, adjusting it while stepping in front of the mirror; she looked herself over, twisting a bit to look at herself fully, she did a little twirl; it _was_ perfect. Everything needed to be perfect. Today was the day, the day she…Gaz blushed at the thought, she was growing impatient. She was to meet Zim today at their usual spot in the park, on top of that old play structure. They always sit up there and talk for hours on end and watch as the sun set on the Earth, they would try to name of the colors they saw, whoever ran out of colors first lost; she usually won. Gaz smiled something that she knew she wouldn't have done a few months ago, and it was all because of him. Gaz stopped looking at herself for a moment, thinking back, she wondered to herself, _was that night, that one rainy night; was it a dream?_ It didn't matter anymore. She couldn't care less, the way she felt now, she didn't have to know if it was a dream or not. She would tell him today, and see where it went on from there. She began to walk out of her room, but looked back once to make sure she looked alright, and she looked lovely.

She walked out her door and glanced at her phone as she made her descent down the stairs; 2:45 P.M. Thanks to the absence of daylight savings time, the sun set at a quicker pace, beginning its fall at around 3:30, so she would meet him around 3:00 and stay with him till about six when it got dark. She was giddy, she had it all planned out, she would tell him just as the sun would hit its golden masterpiece: the yellows, reds, and oranges over a variety of spectrums would show, giving the scene a great glow, at that moment she knew, the second that happens, she would tell him how she felt. Strangely, it was unusually warm for this usually cold month of November, well, now as of today, December. It was 62 degrees out, so Gaz assumed she wouldn't need much more than her leather jacket. _Plus cuddles with Zim will keep you warm_, Gaz commented to herself. She blushed again, how would he react to all this? What would he say when she told him? They had been in _very _close contact before, even yesterday; yes it did seem as though he reciprocated her feelings, at least, she hoped he did. She was getting nervous now, she felt her clammy hands turn the front door's knob, stepping outside; she felt her heart well up in her chest, similar to the feeling you get before you go up to present in front of the class. Though it wasn't incredibly hot outside; a bead of sweat formulated on her brow as she made her way towards Piglet Park. She felt her face getting warmer and her heartbeat increasing. _Get a hold of yourself Gaz, _she scolded herself, _he's not even here and you're already freaking out!_ She took a few deep, calming breaths, trying to clear her mind and calm herself. After a few minutes of walking, she reached the park, entered it, found the play structure, climbed it, sat down, and awaited her green knight. She took her phone out of her jacket pocket; eyeing the time. _Two-fifty-eight_, she thought, _any minute now…_

Zim watched as the sun began to set, a series a Voot Cruisers descended from the vibrant sky, cloaked and silent, they landed on a hill near the forest as to not be seen. The hill was a great vantage point, looking below it; you could see the entire city, the busy streets and colossal buildings, and Membrane Labs right in the middle of it. Zim turned to the landed Cruisers, saluting the Irkens that exited the cockpits. One Irken had dark, purple eyes, so dark that Zim could have sworn that they were black.

"Hello Zim." The Irken female angrily spit. That voice! Where had Zim heard it before? Her antennae curled into black swirls, and a mechanical ring protruded from her head. She looked familiar too…

"You seem…" Zim started, putting one gloved finger on his chin, "familiar." The Irken female sighed heavily, rubbing the area between her eyes, oh how she hated his stupidity.

"That's because you know me, you imbecile! I'm Tak!" she foamed, even after all these years he was still a pathetic waste of Vortion dung. The idiot before her looked up, as if trying to remember that name. He gave a '_hmmm_' in thought, causing the Tak to growl. Then in an instant Zim's features changed from curiosity to horror. He pointed an accusing finger at her.

"You tried to steal Zim's mission!" he gasped, "What are you doing here?! Trying to take Zim's mission again, huh?! Huh?! HUH!?" after each 'huh' he was poking her, she cringed and swatted his arm away. He jumped away in fear, still pointing an accusing finger at her.

"No Zim," she sighed, "I'm the Captain of this fleet, after our battle, I drifted in space for a while, until I was rescued by the Tallests. I have been ordered to assist you in the operation of shutting down whatever these "God's Creation" things are." More soldiers climbed out of their alien vehicles, gathering their supplies and approached their leader, awaiting orders. "We assume you have all the necessary information of this operation, right?" she questioned. Zim nodded in response and using his PAK, displayed a hologram of Membrane Labs' in a 3D model, a red line with a blinking red dot on the end of the line showed the location of God's Creations. He had gathered all the necessary information in the past few weeks, microscopic Irken cameras had been placed in the building, giving Zim a scope of the place. He even knew what times the guard shifts shifted: every hour and a half. Zim knew that in ten minutes, the guards would shift into their new positions, giving Tak's squadron and himself roughly about eight minutes to sneak in into the core and with the security code, shut down the world's only resources to live. The plan was straight forward, a condescending smile formed on his face as he told his plan to Tak. Tak was shocked herself; his plan wasn't actually an idiotic one. After he was finished explaining the plan, Tak turned to her squadron, they instantly prepared themselves for her orders.

"Soldiers!" Tak shouted, her voice booming with power, "You have heard the plans! It is time we take this pathetic ball of dirt and crush it into dust! We will show these humans who the superior beings are! Today, we pave the path to a new world, a world that serves the Irken Empire!" The soldiers cheered and grunted with excitement. He hated to admit it, but Tak was quite the motivational speaker; even he had the urge to laugh manically at that last sentence. Tak motioned the soldiers to move out; each soldier quickly cloaked themselves into invisibility, while Tak formed into her old human disguise. She and Zim were to lead the soldiers to Membrane Labs undetected; they quickly made their way down the hill and on the streets, avoiding any suspicion. "Pathetic humans," Tak scoffed, "completely unaware of their own destruction." Her lips curled into a cruel smile, and she began to chuckle evilly. Zim tried to laugh along with her, yet something was holding him back, he felt a pang beat against his chest as he looked at the sky; the sun was setting…_Gaz…_

Gaz looked at her phone; it was 3:45 now. She sighed, and placed her phone back in her jacket pocket. _Where is he? _She wondered, _surely he would have been here by now._ She was growing worried. Did he not want to see her? No, that would be silly, perhaps he just forgot, or Gir is having some sort of breakdown and he's running late. She worriedly looked at the sunset and began to name the colors she saw. _Red, magenta, yellow…_

_Orange, daffodil, maroon…_Zim thought to himself, the colors of the sunset was getting to him. Normally in a situation like this he wouldn't be so distracted, but he was just so used to saying off the colors of the sunset that…that…Pain began to fill Zim's chest, he shook his head violently. _I need to concentrate, just forty-five more seconds…_he reminded himself. Zim signed to Tak to wait on his signal, they were just outside the Membrane Labs back door, in a few moments they would infiltrate the Labs. In a moment, Zim knew, the reign of the Irken's would begin. Zim had the means of getting in, he reached into his PAK, grabbing a swipe card out, but not just any; it was the key to get into the building. He remembered how he received said key; he had stolen it from Gaz when she had fallen asleep on the couch at his house once. He felt guilty doing it, her beautiful violet strands and angelic face tormented him, but as long as his inner invader told him it was all for, "the good for the empire", Zim tossed away the guilt, hiding it from himself. He shook himself again, it was time now…Three…Two…One…Zim slid the key in the swiping mechanism, a green light shown from it, and the door unlocked. He hurridly opened the door, they only had one chance with little time. They stormed in Tak quickly trailed behind Zim, as all of the Irken's silently stormed the building. The metallic walls and floor glowed an ominous blue, giving them a futuristic appearance. It took about four minutes to reach the door which led to the great machines; this gave Zim only three minutes left. Everything was working so well, Zim was incredibly pleased with himself, usually his plans would go wrong at some point. Zim swiped the car key through another mechanism, the large sliding door opened and they stepped inside, the aliens were dumbfounded looking at the huge machines that filled the room, their chrome surface was dotted with colorful diodes and glowing buttons, truly a sight to behold, but then something happened that none of the aliens were expecting.

"Entrance password?" a female computerized voice asked.

"Uh…" Zim answered perplexed. Entrance password?! No one told him about that!

"Intruder alert in section 6!" the computerized voice shouted. Alarms began blaring and the shouting of guards and scientists flooded through all of the aliens' ears. Tak's eyes glared at Zim hatefully, she knew that this plan was faulty! It was Zim they were talking about, how foolish she was to follow his orders!

"Ziiiiiiiiiimmmmm!" Tak roared, taking a step towards him. Zim backed away from her he couldn't believe this! He had tried so hard! He had failed again! Tak reached up a hand to smack him only to be distracted by one of her soldiers firing off one of their weapons. Tak twisted around and saw the human guards beginning to flood in, each one quickly being sent to a painful death at the hands of her blood thirsty soldiers. Those who weren't shot by the Proton Canons, were quickly annihilated by the sharp sting of a laser dagger, nicknamed by soldiers as Ruptures, because of their ability to rupture the veins and arteries of their victims.

"Captain!" one soldier shouted, "Orders Captain!" She growled at Zim, her soldiers needed her, but as much as she wanted to kill Zim, he was the only one who had the code.

"Shut. Them. Down." she threatened, shoving him to the side. She pulled out an Electron Pulser, a weapon that resembled a large gun; she prepared herself for the fight. "Soldiers, stabilize, secure the perimeter; let no one pass through!" she commanded over the roar of destruction. She saw one large guard come right for her, he was blonde, and he held at least had a good two feet over her, she smiled curtly as the human male roared, making a dive at her. Without even aiming, she pulled her trigger, sending a beam of light that sent his head aloft, the blood gushing from his neck spilled out onto her, some falling on her face as his body went limp and collapsed to the floor. She used her snake-like tongue to lick up the blood, its coppery scent and taste enticed her. She loved the taste of a fresh kill; it made her want even more.

Zim made his way over to the command module. If Irken's could sweat, he would have been soaked by now. This was not going as smoothly as he had hoped; his hands were shaking as he tried to cycle through the information in order to shut them down. He searched and searched, why couldn't he find it!? This was frustrating! All this madness was distracting him, _damn it, why won't my hands stop shaking?! _Zim screamed in his head. Zim closed his eyed and tried taking a few breaths, he needed to calm down; everything was going to be fine. Zim opened his eyes, and slid through files of information, then, he found it. Zim saw the blinking screen before him, it read: Shut down God's Creations? With that a typing box popped up, and a blinking underscore awaited the code to be typed in. Zim's shaky hands reached for the keyboard, slowly, in fear of making a mistake, he typed in the ten-digit code: 3-8-1-4-1-4-6-9-9-7. It was time now, time to plunge the world into chaos. He reached for the 'Enter' key when he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. Zim's eyes went wide as the mysterious presence shoved him out of the way and against the wall, hand clasping around his neck. Zim gazed up at his attacker, to his astonishment, the man looked familiar. Black vector-like scythe hair? White goggles and white lab coat? Black latex gloves and boots? It was Professor Membrane himself! Gaz's Parental unit, her father! Zim gasped a little, Professor Membrane tightened his grip on Zim's neck, staring deep into his eyes.

"I won't allow any scum from any planet to destroy my world!" Professor Membrane bellowed, tightening his grip more, causing Zim to cough; desperately trying to breathe in some oxygen. Zim's vision began to blur, then he heard a gunshot, in that instant Professor Membrane fell to his knees, or what was left of them as Zim was released from that death grip and now able to breathe. Zim regained his breath and got up and looked at the Professor, whose screams of pain, filled the room. His legs were completely separated from the knee down, blood was flowing all over the blue floor staining it a crimson red. Zim felt a shot of fear enter him, he needed to help him. Zim tried to approach him in order to assist him when he saw Tak take a rupture and put it against the Professor's neck. Zim's heart sank, and he began to panic a little. He couldn't let him die!

"No, don't!" Zim objected, waving his hands out to stop her. She pushed Zim away, eyeing him curiously. Surely he was insane! Sparing an enemy? That's not what an Irken is trained to do. She scoffed and pulled the laser blade closer to the Professor's neck; in the mist of all the madness his goggles had fallen off revealing an all too familiar vibrant amber colored eyes too Zim. The eyes didn't show fear though, no they showed an entirely different emotion altogether. It was sadness, as if he regretted something. And Zim knew what he was thinking, only the quiet words spoken confirmed his thoughts.

"Dib…G-Gaz…" Professor Membrane whispered. Zim's world began to fall apart.

"Zim, it's time you know something," Tak said curtly, "we will defeat the humans, we will conquer this puny planet, even if it means killing each and every last one of these pathetic worms! One. By. One!" at her last word she sliced through the Professor's neck, the smell of the burnt flesh, filled Zim's senses. Blood poured from his neck, squirting out in the air, landing anywhere it pleased; the blood continued to spill on the floor, and a gurgling coughing sound emanated from Professor Membrane's throat, leaving blood to bubble out his throat. The blood seemed endless as it continued to drizzle out, Zim turned his head away, the gruesome sight made him nauseous, the smell of fresh blood mixed with the burning, sheared flesh, made him want to hurl. Tak scoffed, walking over to the command module, she placed a bloody finger on the 'Enter' key. The enormous machines, quickly made a sound of powering down, all the lights in the room and on the machines shut off, leaving each area pitch black until it reached the floor. The power went out in every home on Earth, anyone who was taking a shower or washing their hands was now was now incredibly inconvenienced. Tak smiled evilly, it was finally done; the Earth was now for the Irken Empire's taking. She chuckled, silently at first; then she laughed, she couldn't hold in her excitement anymore. She laughed and laughed, her cackle sending fear even into her soldiers. This was only the beginning, Tak knew this, and she couldn't wait to see how it played out in the end. Licking the blood from her hands, she sneered wickedly. She wondered how other humans would taste as well. "Well done my soldiers!" she shouted, "Let us return to the Massive, and celebrate our victory!" This comment received cheers in approval. The soldiers began to take their leave, cloaking themselves; their excited blood lust still lingered on them. Tak began to make her way to the huge sliding door, only to look back to see Zim kneeling by the fallen Professor. She saw Zim lay the Professor face up, wiping most of the blood from his face; closing his amber eyes. Tak's eyebrows furrowed, this behavior wasn't normal for an Irken Invader, and not a soldier either. _I'll have to keep an eye on him…_she reasoned grunting for Zim to follow. Zim escaped from his daze, and quietly followed behind her; he was still shaking, this was too much. As if betrayal wasn't enough, but now Gaz's own father laid dead at the hands of him. He might not have wielded the weapon, but Zim knew he was the catalyst in this whole fucked up situation, and there was no escape. No escape.

Gaz awoke startled, she looked around, the sun was still setting. _How long have I been sleeping?_ She wondered. She reached for her phone and glanced at the time, 6:30? Is this really happening? Gaz looked around for any sign of Zim, but he was nowhere to be found. She sighed sadly, she really had wanted to see him today…to tell him…_Fuck!_ Gaz thought reaching her hands around her arms, rubbing them to keep them warm. It was freezing, which was strange considering it had been so nice today. Gaz frowned; she couldn't believe that Zim didn't show up, why didn't he show up? If he was busy, why didn't he call her? Then her cellphone rang, hoping it was Zim she fumbled her phone in her hands and looked at the caller ID. _Oh, it's just Dib_, she thought disappointedly. She pressed the answer button.

"Hello, Dib, what do you want?" Gaz asked rudely.

"G-G-Gaz?" Dib sniffled. This caused Gaz to be alarmed, what the fuck was going on? Her brother never cried in front of her. This had to be serious, but what? She began to grow anxious, her hands began to shake; her hands became laced with sweat.

"Dib, what's wrong?" Gaz tried to say calmly, but her fear caused her to shake violently, she knew something was terribly wrong. A moment went by and Dib hadn't responded. Gaz was growing frustrated; she was increasingly becoming afraid, what the hell was happening? "Dib, what the fuck happened!" she shrieked, her fear causing her to be a bit irrational and jumpy. She heard Dib take in a deep, shaky breath. He gained the courage to speak to his baby sister.

"G-Gaz," he shuddered, "I-it's a-a-about D-Dad…" Gaz's amber eyes grew wide with fear; somehow, she knew what was coming. "The p-police found him in t-the God's Creation chamber…d-d-dead." Gaz dropped her phone.

**A/N: I have nothing to say...**


	10. Invasion

**A/N: Probably expect one chapter every Sunday night :3**

Gaz dropped her phone.

_"I-it's a-a-about D-Dad…"_

Her whole body began to shake uncontrollably. She grabbed her arms to try to control herself; she couldn't.

_Dead._

No, this couldn't be happening; it had to be a dream! Gaz shut her eyes tightly.

_Dead._

No, not again, NOT AGAIN! She grabbed her head; trying to drown out the words; she rocked back and forth.

_DEAD!_

She screamed. These words are an understatement; there are no words to describe the horrific, pain-filled screech that exited her throat. All this pain, these thoughts. These fearful thoughts; they hit her. She was now, truly, an orphan. Both parents: dead. Family: none. It was only Dib and her; alone. Though she never thought of Professor Membrane as a 'father figure' his was still her Dad; and the tears she began to shed proved she loved him. Now that he was gone, what would happen? What would become of Dib? What would become of her? Any child service agency would likely separate them; and even with all the hatred she seemed to have for Dib, he was still her brother; and now, the only family to go to. She opened her eyes; hearing Dib's voice still coming from the phone.

Gaz stopped rocking and let go of her head. Dib. She had to go see Dib, he needed her, just like she needed him. She had so many questions now, Dib could tell her; they could answer her questions together. She clumsily got up, still shaken from the news of her father, she climbed down from the play structure, reaching into it to retrieve her phone. She wiped off a few wet woodchips from her phone; placing it against her ear.

"Dib!? Are you still there?" She whimpered, wiping the tears that wouldn't seem to stop flowing. She began to make her way to Membrane Labs; sprinting through the park to make her way into town. While running, she saw that the fountain in the park had stopped spurting water…strange…

"Gaz? Yes, I'm still here, where are you?" Dib replied, sounding more like himself; trying to be strong for Gaz. Gaz jay-walked, er-sprinted across a crosswalk, ignoring the cars that honked in her path. It was strange; the stoplights seemed to be out. Her tears sprinkled in the sky as she ran, she knew her make-up was probably messy, but in this kind of situation, it didn't matter. She took a turn, but still continued to speak to Dib.

"I was at the park," she breathed, "But I'm on my way to the Labs." She pushed through dozens of people, what the hell were all these people doing? They were all going in the same direction, and running. What the hell was wrong with people? Don't they know that when a person is running, that they stay out of the fucking way? God! She pushed a guy about twice her size out of the way. _Jeez, _she thought, _at least if you're running, FUCKING RUN FAST!_ She made her way to the town's central, a large road where they usually had parade's going on. She jumped of the sidewalk to cross the road; dodging the running and screaming pedestrians. Why was everyone screaming? Gaz wiped the horrified faces that ran around out of her mind; she was too focused on the situation at hand. Little did she know she had bigger problems…She was almost to the other side when someone ran into her; spinning and knocking her down. _Fuck,_ she thought as she painfully sat herself up, trying to reply to Dib. When she only heard static on the phone, she was puzzled, it was as if the telephone lines were down…She sighed and looked to the side where everyone was coming from, and with wide eyes, gasped at the sight before her. In what seemed to be a peaceful, colorful, sunlit sky, was filled with maroon ships, ranging in all sizes, baring a familiar alien-like symbol on each of them. On the ground were green beings which shot at and cornered groups of people; their razor-like teeth curled into smiles of madness; bloodlust; their eyes practically glowing with crazed glee. They all looked similar, except for different eye shades and antennae shapes, but they all looked so much like…like…

"Zim?" Gaz whispered. One of the green aliens caught sight of her, and with a deranged chuckle, launched himself at Gaz. She quickly snapped out of her daze and went into combat mode; she did a back handspring, then launched forward. As the Irken soldier went to throw a punch at her, she twisted around him; dodging the attack, then as she was behind him, grabbed and twisted his arm, then flipped him onto his back, kicking him once more for good measure. All those years her father gave a martial arts instructor to his children really paid off. At least she could thank him for something…Gaz forced the tears back, this was an emergency situation, she couldn't have her mind clouded with emotion. Right now, she had to escape and find Dib, she could ask questions later.

The squadron noticed their fallen comrade; then proceeded to attack the violet haired human. Even though Gaz was, indeed powerful, she knew she couldn't face off this many enemies alone without proper equipment. She dodged a swing from a blade, swinging her legs under the Irken soldier, causing him to fall over. She grabbed the antennae of another, tossing the poor fool into the side of a building. As she continued to fight them off one of the leaders from another squadron noticed something about her. The thought struck him. Gaz was knocked on the ground, grasping the wrists of an Irken soldier; trying to prevent herself from being stabbed by the Rupture. When the blade was an inch from her throat, she heard one of them shout something to her attacker.

"Wait! That's the human the Tallests were talking about! The violet haired demon!" the leader shouted. A puzzled grunt from her attacker gave Gaz the opportunity to escape, she flipped the wrist which held the blade, freeing the blade from the Irken's hands and flipping him onto his back. Grasping onto the blade, she held it out in front of herself; preparing to attack. She backed up a few steps; she knew she needed to get out of there, FAST! She turned and ran. She didn't know where to run anymore, as long as she got away from there. That Irken knew who she was. _How do they know me? Why? What do they want with me?_ If they wanted her, she knew she couldn't go home, they'd find her. She couldn't go to Membrane Labs either, that would be too obvious. Where could she go? Wait! She knew where to go, and she knew Dib would be there too. There was a sanctuary-emergency safe-house that her father had built for them in case of a crisis. It had food, water, protection, weapons, even a small generator that would last for a couple of days. Gaz made a sharp right turn, her adrenaline from the fight carrying her to the safe-house.

It was located about two blocks from the mall, in a field where the hill curled into a secret entrance that was immune to any electrical detection device. As she ran, she smiled sadly, even though her father had always been at work, and never came home; he really _did_ care about them, going out of this way to prepare them in case of crisis. How could she not see that when he was alive? She wiped a tear from her face, continuing to run past the mall. So many things were going through her head that she couldn't even concentrate, so many questions. The most perplexing of the questions: what did the Irken's want with her? She saw the field, pausing to look behind her to see if she was followed. She wasn't, _thank God_, she thought. She didn't notice how hard she was panting until she reached the safe-house's door. She lifted the lid of a fake boulder, revealing a small red button; pressing it, a small black rectangular pad revealed itself, bearing a retinal scanner. Gaz allowed the scanner to scan her eyes, and after hearing a beep, what seemed to be grassy hill exposed a titanium door, which hissed open. She stepped inside, the door quickly tightened shut behind her. She looked around; the metal vicinity's floors glowed a violet light; causing her hair to shine within the light. She stepped further inside, observing the hallway's interior. She grew anxious and wondered if Dib was even there.

"Dib, are you here?" she questioningly shouted. She waited a moment to hear a reply, a moment of silence past, and she began to fear the worse. What if he died? She wouldn't be able to handle being alone. The thought made a few tears puddle into her eyes, but before they fell from her eyes, she heard someone.

"Gaz? Is that you?" the voice said. She identified it immediately, it was Dib! She felt happiness overcome her as she ran down the end of the hallway, colliding with her brother causing them to spill on the floor. Dib gave out pained grunt, landing on the hard floor; his little sister hugging him. Wait, hugging? Dib looked down to see his little sister's arms were tightly around him, as if not wanting to let go. She was shaking, and he was flabbergasted. He'd never seen her in this state before, let alone hug him! He frowned, this whole ordeal was difficult to handle. He could see why she was so shaken up. It had been happening again, that pain, that sadness from the loss of a parent. No one could dream of what it felt like, and when people tried to sympathize with you, saying, "I know how you feel," it was all bullshit. Did they _truly_ know how it felt? Of course not; they didn't stay up crying some nights, they didn't _feel_ the pain, the utter destruction of one's life, they didn't know. Now that pain from all those years ago was back, but Dib was older now, and much wiser. He needed to be strong, both him and Gaz needed to prepare for what was to come ahead.

After about a minute, Gaz released Dib, now that she knew he was alive, it was ok, _they_ would be ok. She wiped another tear from her face, a million questions were going through her mind, and she needed answers. They both got to their feet, and Gaz sat down in a chair in the room. The room was dimly lit thanks to the small generator, which showed a few chairs and a few pantries filled with non-perishable items. It looked like something out of a Spy Kids movie, it was high tech, and even though it seemed small, Gaz knew that this safe-house had more to offer than just this part of it. Dib handed Gaz a bottle of water, which she took gingerly, now noticing that running all this way had made her throat parched and dry. She gulped down a few mouthfuls of the liquid, stinging her dry throat on the way down. She winced at the slight pain, and then looked to Dib. She stared at him, noticing that his face had a few cuts and bruises on them; his clothes tattered and scuffed up. She needed answers.

"Dib," she said sternly, "what the fuck is happening?" Dib stared back at her, he knew this was coming, he knew that he would have to answer all the questions she had. He took in a deep breath and rubbed his neck, preparing himself to answer her. Gaz anxiously awaited his reply, fidgeting with the water bottle.

"Gaz," he began, "The police led me to Membrane Labs, to identify Dad's body…" He decided to stop there, she didn't need to hear their father's gruesome fate, she didn't need to hear about all the blood…he gained some composure and continued, "It was him, but there was something else; God's Creations, when we were there, they, they had been shut down. I don't know how though, no one knew the access code except Dad!" Gaz's heart sank, she somehow knew that this was coming, it all made sense. The malfunctioning stoplights, her phone not working, the fountain at the park not working, it all led to the fact that they were shut down. Not only that, but the Irken's being here on Earth led her to one dreadful conclusion. Zim. Zim had done this, he had done it all! He was the cause of this! No, no she…she was the one who gave him the access code! It was her fault her father was dead! Gaz stood up, she dropped her water bottle; stepping back towards a wall.

"No…" she whimpered, sliding down against the wall. She couldn't believe this; she had trusted Zim blindly, not even thinking about what he would do! He played her like a sap! She gave him what he wanted without asking what he would do! He toyed with her emotions, with her mind. He made her feel like he actually cared when no one else did, but it was all lies! Lies! He didn't really care; he was only using her until he got what he wanted. Now the Earth was in shear chaos, and she helped him achieve that. And she even…Gaz cradled her head in her hands, this wasn't FUCKING HAPPENING! Dib, alarmed, went up to Gaz, reaching for her and trying to comfort her.

"Hey, hey, it'll be alright." He assured, but Gaz swiped his hand away, pure anger taking over her.

"No it _won't _Dib!" She yelled, sucking in a few shaky breaths, "Earth is getting fucked up right now, and it's my fault! It's because of me!" her shouts were turning into sobs, "I gave the access code to Zim! And now Dad's dead, and the human race is _fucked!"_ After she barked this, she kept breathing in long, deep breaths, she was panicking slightly; tears still streaming down her face. She turned her face away from Dib, trying to hide her tears. Dib stared at her, dumbstruck. After a moment of silence, he took both of her shoulders and shook her forward.

"Look at me Gaz!" Dib shouted, still shaking her, "I said look at me!" Gaz slowly lifted her gaze into her brother's eyes, expecting them to be full of disappointment, but they weren't. They were filled with aggression, and determination. "This is _not_ your fault Gaz!" he continued, "It was Zim who did this, he's the reason Dad's dead, he's the reason all this shit is happening! Don't you for one moment let him make you think that any of what has happened is your fault!" Gaz was surprised by her brother's words, he was right, this was Zim's doing, not hers! He had done this to her, and he was going to _FUCKING_ pay for it. The tears in her eyes seemed to shut off, and a burning hatred replaced them, she shook Dib off of her, abruptly standing up and heading for another corridor in the safe-house, Dib was puzzled by her sudden change of attitude, "Wait Gaz, where are you going? Gaz!" he cried trailing behind her.

Gaz marched her way down the corridor, her steps echoing throughout its halls. She was heading toward a tiled room where she knew she would find 'appropriate' equipment. When she reached her destination, she punched a button on the side of one of the walls, allowing shelves of weaponry to lower themselves into the tiled room. Oh how her father knew how to choose weapons. She grinned evilly at the AK-47's, rapid-fire shotguns, rifles, snipers, grenades, swords, knifes, pistols, all the creative and fun weapons that were at her disposal. Dib walked into the room, mouth agape at all the weaponry; he couldn't even count all the guns in the room. He eyed his little sister, who took a sudden interest in a .45 ACP pistol. She gazed at it curiously, flipping and twirling it in her hand, it felt nice there. She reached for the ammunition case, jamming it into the ammunition slot.

"Gaz, what do you think you're doing?" Dib, though frightened, asked. Gaz looked at him curiously.

"Getting ready to fuck up some aliens." She replied sweetly, cocking the pistol.

Tallest Red admired the shouts of terror coming from all the screens he was looking at. Cameras in every country, on every continent really made this take-over entertaining. He chuckled in delight as he saw a woman's head literally explode off her body in Japan, her gushing blood only fueling his laughter. Blood was always something that made him smile. Another screen showed a man in Britain being drained of blood, though he begged for death, his Irken attackers slowly cut through his abdominopelvic cavity, revealing his intestines, which they curiously pulled out and promptly feasted on them; the man still screaming. _How delightful_, Red thought. This take-over was the best so far! Yes he would let the little vermin of the armada feast on the humans, but they would be incredibly useful as workers, slaves, and servants. One human in particular was, to him, _perfect_. Where was she though? He looked on the North American continent, and in the United States area, but couldn't seem to find her. Perhaps she was hiding; oh he loved a good game of hide-and-seek, because he always won. His lips curled into a cruel smile, and he was enjoying watching the chaos unfold when Purple interrupted him.

"Everything's going according to plan, eh?" Purple chimed in. Red nodded, not amused by the interruption. Purple nervously rubbed his neck, when Red was like this it always made him nervous. Purple approached the screens and observed the images flooding from them. They were truly gruesome, and his eye twitched at the man whose organs were being feasted on by the Irken soldiers. "Well," he added, "we'll have to announce our take-over soon…" This statement aroused Red's curiosity, sure they needed to announce the take-over, but where would they do it? Both Red and Purple turned around after hearing the sliding doors of their surveillance room open, and through it, Zim and Tak approached the Tallests. Tak kneeled down before them; then yanked down Zim to do the same.

"At ease soldiers." Red said; Tak and Zim both returning to a standing position, "Status report?" Tak cleared her throat and stepped forward slightly, looking up to her Tallest before she spoke.

"We are here to report that, as you can see, the machines known as 'God's Creations' have been successfully shut down, leaving the human race defenseless against our superior soldiers." She explained, a proud smile forming on her lips. Zim said nothing but stood behind her. His head down slightly, staring into the chrome floor. Everything that had happened today was taking a toll on his forbidden emotions, rendering him into a silent bystander. Red nodded in approval at Tak's report.

"Very good soldier, you've done well. And who do we have to thank for the access code?" He said in a sing-songy voice, motioning to Zim. Zim didn't notice, or was even listening, so he was alarmed when Tak elbowed him hard in the side.

"Huh?" Zim questioned, rubbing his side thoughtfully. Red approached Zim, putting a hand on his shoulder, this really put in perspective on how much Zim had grown, he was probably the same height as him, Zim was perhaps a few millimeters shorter or taller than he was. This angered Red, no matter, as long as the whelp stayed in his place, he would be no threat to him; especially when he was dead. Red mustered up the best façade he could, smiling at Zim.

"Why, you're the reason this all happened Zim, without you're help, we couldn't have taken over this pathetic dirt ball. You've been a great help Zim." He said with fake pride, and it caused Zim to feel even worse than before. Yes, he had caused this, this was his entire fault, and he knew Gaz would despise him for it. This thought made his squiddly spooch ache; he clenched his fists. "And for that reason," Red continued, "We're going to let you help announce the take-over of the planet with us, in the very same town that you gathered information from." Hearing this, Zim went very still, letting the words sink in, he gulped; he would have to confront them. Confront _her_. Confront the people who had trusted him. This was going to be a nightmare.

"You can't just go and shoot at aliens whenever you want to Gaz! We need a plan! I know you want revenge, but there are more important things to think about! Like humanity!" Dib countered, grabbing her wrist to turn her towards him. Gaz barred her teeth, and turned away, she knew he was right. She just couldn't go barging in and shoot up some aliens without some sort of strategy. If they were going to save the human race and take back Earth from the Irken's, they would need people, they would need technology; they would need a plan! Though her anger seemed to consume her, Gaz calmed a bit, a turned back towards her brother.

"You're right, as always that big head of yours is one step ahead." She teased, motioning to his head.

"It's not _that_ big…" he growled. Gaz chuckled, but quickly returned to the serious task at hand.

"So, what do we do? I mean, obviously we need to recruit some people to assist us in taking the Earth back, but where do we start? And even then, what do we do?" she questioned. Dib smiled an arrogant smile, causing Gaz to cock her head to the side in confusion. "What is it? Why're you smiling?" Dib pulled up his black trench-coat sleeve, exposing his video watch that their father had invented for him. He turned it on, tapping a strange pattern on the screen until he succeeded, and a ringing emanated from the watch.

"Let's just say," Dib started, "my eyes are swollen."

**A/N: Huh? Wasn't that cool? Looks like the swollen eyeball is gonna get into this biz! Wow the feasting on organs thing...ya didn't expect that coming from me did ya? I actually have a twisted mind. And btw both my parents are still alive, but I'm pretty sure those of you who have had parents die, it's very emotionally draining and scary T^T  
**

**SS signing off :3  
**


	11. The Plan

**I don't own anything just my brain ~.~**

Gaz stared at her brother quizzically. What the fuck was he talking about? His eyes were swollen? They looked the same as they did before, and what did the size of his eyeballs have to do with recruiting people to take Earth back? She watched in curiosity as Dib fumbled and tapped at the watches screen, just what was he planning? She tried to get a look at what he was doing, but he twisted his body away from her to hide it.

"Okay, _real_ mature Dib. Just tell me what the hell you're up to." She scowled, poking him in the side.

"Shh-shh-shh, not now Gaz, I'm calling them." He replied, staring intently at his watch. It ringed once, then once more. It continued to ring without someone picking up; Dib began to slowly frown, fearing that no one would answer his call, or worse…they couldn't. He bit his lip, _come on…_he pleaded. After one last ring, the screen flashed, showing that someone had, in fact, picked up the call. Dib quickly recovered from his saddened state, and he smiled widely. "Yes!" he shouted thrusting his fist in the air, as the screen revealed a dark, yet disheveled silhouette. Dib put his arm down to speak urgently to the mysterious figure. "Agent Dark-Bootie, are you alright? What's happened to the Swollen Eyeball?"

_The Swollen Eyeball? _Gaz wondered, _Hmm, must be a cult of psychotic weirdos._ As if Dib heard her thoughts, he eyed her with slight annoyance, motioning her to be quiet. She replied by making a zipping motion on her mouth, signaling her silence. Dib turned back to his watch's screen, eager to hear the other agent's reply. Agent Dark-Bootie coughed a few dusty and strained coughs before he even thought of speaking. He adjusted his messy hair and coughed a few more times to make sure he could answer Dib properly.

"Agent Moth-Man, we at the Swollen Eyeball are thrilled to know that you have survived the current invasion." He paused for a moment, not sure whether to go on, "Some of us however…have not been so lucky…" and even though he was a shrouded silhouette, Dib could see the sorrow in his eyes.

"I'm…sorry." Dib apologized, "how many of us are left?" Agent Dark-Bootie picked himself up with this question, time was of the essence and informing his agents was an imperative task.

"Still quite a number mind you, as you know we are a world-wide agency, we have hundreds-of-thousands of us around the world. However, there are about 8,278 agents in the United States alone; although, only about thirty of us are left in close range of our location. A meeting was being held in our headquarters when we were hit by a squad of those strange extraterrestrials, we were unprepared, and their weapons were so…advanced, those of us who escaped barely made it out alive. Those who didn't, well, we can only imagine…"

"The alien race you are speaking of our known as Irkens," Dib informed, "I have told you about them before, from the research I was doing on the one who went to my skool. From the information I have collected, they have a hierarchy based on height, the leaders of their race are known as the Tallests, as their name implies they are the tallest of the aliens. Not only that, but Irkens do have one weakness, and that is water. Their skin burns just like acid would to our own skin when it is in contact with water. Agent Dark-Bootie, you know very well that a counter attack on this alien scum is the only thing that can win back the Earth. Since we don't have many people, we'll have to execute a plan to take them down in one mission; and as history shows, a good way to take down an army, is to kill the General…" Agent Dark-Bootie cocked an eyebrow at the strange statement.

"Agent Moth-Man, what are you inferring?" he questioned. Dib showed a slightly devious smile, Gaz wasn't the only one who was going to get revenge.

"We need to take down the Tallests, without their leaders, the Irkens will not know how to continue, and flee, it's a simple objective that will not take more than ten minutes to complete. Now, all we need to do is figure out where they are…"

"Agent Moth-Man you didn't hear? A broadcast was made over seven minutes ago. A loud booming voice informed the population of the city to gather around Swine Square to have an announcement take place, we are to do this or suffer death. The leaders of this, Irken race are coming here in exactly one hour!" Dib's wicked smile grew malicious, this couldn't be more perfect. He, Dib would once again save the day from the hands of the Irken Empire. His name would be in the history books and child stories for years to come. This was his time, he would get revenge for what Zim and his disgusting members of his race did to his father, how they made his father's body completely unrecognizable; the torn, bloody body. Dib's brain began to plan hastily, it was time to act!

"Agent Dark-Bootie, round up all the remaining members in town, tell them that we've got a planet to take back! Meet us near Swine Square in forty-five minutes; we will plan our attack there! Don't worry, my sister and I will provide everyone with the weapons we need. We need every person fit to fight. We need to take back our planet!" Dib shouted triumphantly, his eyes full of malicious determination; even Gaz was slightly frightened by the vicious look.

"Yes agent Moth-Man, you can count on us! Forty-five minutes. See you then." With that the screen flashed off, leaving weapons room silent once more. Dib made his way over to a weapons rack and grabbed a black P90 SMG; he slammed the magazine into the gun.

"We're going to need more of these…" he chuckled.

"We're going to need more of these!" Red yelled, shoving an empty donut box into a servant drones arms. The service drone bowed and went to get more donuts for the Tallests and their guest. They were currently sitting at a large long table in the private dining hall that only the Tallests had access to, but today, they had a guest. Zim was the first non-service drone to enter the private dining hall even Purple was skeptical at first, but Red urged him to allow Zim to enter. Zim couldn't believe that he'd been asked to join them; Tak wasn't even allowed to join them, this angered Tak, but she respected her Tallests decisions, bowing and leaving them to their meal. Being in the chrome vicinity, with blue lights created by garspleco bugs gave the room a pleasant, comfortable feeling; Zim couldn't help but feel happy, he finally felt accepted, from all the years that he'd been such an outcast, here he was having a meal with the Tallests, being respected and getting kind attention from his peers. Finally, everyone would treat him differently, but something still tugged at his chest. Gaz was still on his mind, no doubt that she truly despised him now. She surely wouldn't ever look at him the same, speak to him the same, or even touch him. He wouldn't be able to feel her warm touch as she wrapped her arms around his body encasing him with her wonderful essence. He would never hear her laugh, or see her lovely smile, only see her hateful stare, her angry scowls. Pain filled his chest, and he reached his hand up to hold his chest.

"Ahem, Zim?" Red coughed, annoyed by Zim completely ignoring him and zoning out. Zim blinked his eyes and shook his head, waking himself up from his imaginative state.

"Huh, what?" Zim mumbled, causing Red to sigh.

"In a few minutes we will announce our take over Zim, and with that announcement, you will be promoted as General of the Irken army. You, of course are to make the announcement and will introduce us to the human population, it will be a holographic broadcast to the rest of the world, and are takeover will be finalized." Red informed, Zim silently listened to his Tallest trying to ignore the pain in his chest. A service drone poured what was the Irken equivalent to wine in Red's narrow glass "As General Zim, you will have a lot more privileges than the other soldiers will. You'll be a high authoritative power that will be the difference in success or failure in the Empire's battles. I hope that Purple and I can count on you not to fail us." Red said, swirling the glass in his hands and bringing it to his lips to sip thoughtfully. Zim automatically bowed his head, his antennae barely touching the table.

"My Tallests, I can assure you, I shall not disappoint you from this day forth." He swore. This statement from Zim caused Red to smile; Zim was truly going to be useful to him.

_Idiots always are the most useful, and once I'm done with Zim I'll dispose of him, perhaps a malfunction with his Voot Cruiser or a mysterious parasite will do the trick, _He happily thought to himself, reveling over the endless possibilities for Zim's demise when Purple interrupted his cruel daydreams.

"Uh, Red?" Purple asked. Red turned his head towards the second leader, irate by his daydreams of Zim's endless ways to die being interrupted.

"What?" He said calmly, but his expression showed annoyance. Purple shifted uncomfortable under his detestable gaze, Red was seriously a scary Irken sometimes. "Uh, it's time to make our announcement to the puny Earth filth." Purple tried to say will confidence, and somewhat failing at it, but it got the point across. Red stood up from his hovering chair, and briskly walked over to Zim, who was still bowing. Red put his arms behind his back and cleared his throat to get Zim's attention. Zim glanced up slightly to listen to his Tallest.

"It's time to complete our invasion Zim," Red said seriously, "are you ready to make the humans see the dawn of a new era? An Irken era?" Red queried. Zim nodded once, but Red wasn't even looking at him, and didn't see him nod. Zim gathered up the might to answer his Tallest appropriately.

"Yes Sir, my Tallest." Zim answered, standing up now to follow his Tallests to board a transporting ship.

"Are we all here?" Dib asked his fellow Swollen Eyeball members, some he was seeing in person for the very first time.

"Everyone who was able to fight is here Agent Moth-Man, now that we have the implements to fight," Agent Dark-Bootie replied, motioning to the weapons Dib and Gaz had supplied to them, "How are we going to take down these invaders?" Dib nodded and began to explain the synthesized, yet simple plan. They were to make their way into the crowd, establishing themselves in positions where their guns could be easily hidden from sight. Nine-teen of the twenty-six people they had were to establish themselves near the edge of the crowd where Irken soldiers would be to enclose the humans. When the time came, they would prevent them from attacking when it was time to kill the Tallests. Five were to stay towards the middle of the crowd in case of any Irken slipped through the other seven. The last two were to be established on either side of where the ship would land, they would be the ones to execute the plan and kill both Tallests. The five in the middle were to also assist if the Tallests were guarded by any other Irkens. The plan was impressive and well planned out, many of the other Swollen Eyeball members were shocked by Dib's seemingly fool-proof plan, and he didn't leave anything out of detail.

"Everyone know their positions?" Dib questioned, everyone nodded and gave grunts of acknowledgement. Dib was starting to feel very proud of himself when he felt a tug at his arm. It was Gaz pulling on his sleeve.

"I don't know Dib; I think that I should be the other one with you to slay the other Tallest." She said, eyeing her brother seriously, but Dib shrugged her off; he didn't need her arguing right now when the plan was so close from happening.

"Look Gaz," He whispered harshly, "we don't have time to argue about this right now, Agent Dark-Bootie and I are going to be the two positioned on the sides of the ship. You need to stay with Agent Turnip Claws and the other three in the middle because your aim is great and you will be able to assist us if the Tallests have guards." Gaz opened her mouth to object but then a whooshing sound of a ship coming prevented her from speaking. She and the others turned simultaneous to the large vessel as it made its decent to the ground in the middle of Swine Square, it crushed beautiful sculptures and small monuments without them leaving barely a scratch. "Alright everyone," Dib ordered, "Take up your positions!" The members of the Swollen Eyeball with Dib and Gaz ran up towards the incredibly large crowd of people; as Dib had assumed, Irken soldiers began to round up the citizens and cram them into a confined crowd. The agents took their respective positions, acting normally, as they hid their weapons from the unsuspecting soldiers. Gaz and the other four people in her group made their way to the middle of the crowd; each standing a certain distance from each other, forming a pentagon shape, with Gaz in front. Gaz looked up at the vessel and followed it as it inched its way to the ground, finally resting a few feet from the crowd. Gaz then glanced over and saw both Dib and Agent Dark-Bootie carefully approach their positions on each side of the street. Gaz looked around and saw the fear stricken faces about her, the people in the crowd were truly frightened. Some cried, and some were hysterically shouting. Gaz even saw a child weeping for its mother, Gaz didn't know if perhaps the child was separated from its mother in the crowd, or if the mother was separated from the child _permanently_. The thought saddened Gaz, but her attention quickly turned to the hissing sound of the ship opening. A very wide, ramp-like structure formed from the ships door and a shadow of one of those green-aliens was spread across it. _This is it,_ Gaz thought as she felt her side, touching her gun. When the Tallests stepped out, it would be the moment to act, Gaz was on her toes, she was prepared to face them, but when the shadowy figure stepped forward, she had to face someone entirely different.

"Zim?!" she gasped.

Zim had stepped out of the large ship, making his way down the wide ramp; everyone in the crowd was completely silent. He continued to walk till he was about half way down the ramp; he then adjusted the robotic insect that rested on his neck to enhance the sound of his voice; much like a microphone would. He took a deep breath and scanned the crowd, eyeing the distraught and miserable faces of the ugly humans, how pathetic they were to be so easily conquered. He was about to speak when he saw Gaz, his squiddly spooch lurched and even though his eyes locked with her sad, yet angry ones for just a second or two, he didn't show any emotion or weakness, he went right into speaking, avoiding her burning gaze. "Filthy Earth creatures," he started, the holograms in every part of the world showing Zim's speech, "we are the members of the Irken Empire. A race that is clearly far more superior than your race in every way possible. Be it strength, agility, or intelligence, we clearly have come out on top. The Irken Empire has been conquering hundreds of planets throughout multiple solar systems, and we intend to spread our rule throughout the rest of the universe!"

Gaz couldn't believe it; he had made eye contact with her. Not only that but he had the audacity to ignore her. She expected some kind of reaction, some kind of sign that he knew of her presence, but he just ignored her and pretended like he didn't see her. And she _knew_ that he did see her, she _knew _it, he just refused to acknowledge her, and that pissed her off. How _dare_ he? He first tricked her into trusting him; then killed her father, left the Earth helpless, and now he had the nerve to ignore her? Gaz's rage was boiling inside her, she could feel the hatred and anger for Zim churning throughout her body. She was MAD; she had never loathed someone as much as this before, she could feel herself shake with anger as she heard the stupid alien keep talking.

"The Tallests have made me General of the Irken army, and therefore, I will enforce the laws they create. The Tallests are your new rulers, and they are as powerful as they are great." Zim continued. Even though he was speaking, Gaz wasn't really hearing any of it, in fact, she was getting really tired of hearing his voice at all, she was completely shaking uncontrollably, her head was throbbing, her body was turning a beet red from all her anger coming to a climax. She was about to explode. "Without further ado, please welcome your new rulers: THE MIGHTY TALLESTS!" Zim announced, turning his body to present the leaders, but as the Tallests began to step out, everyone heard a loud, cacophonic battle cry coming from the crowd. Zim turned and saw Gaz bulldozing her way through the crowd, pushing anyone in her way. Some were quick enough to move out of the way, giving her room to pounce in the air and launch herself towards Zim. It was like watching something in slow motion. Zim saw as she gracefully leaped into the air, her eyes darkened with pure hate, her vicious appearance was to be feared, yet he was also captivated by it. He observed her carefully as she inched closer, throwing an arm back, curling her fingers into a fist and launched it like a canon forward; her punch landing right on his face, hurling him a few feet up the ramp. Man, did that punch _really _fucking hurt. As this was happening Red had already stepped on onto the platform, and seeing the violet-haired demon child, he took no waste of this chance.

"Soldiers! Seize the female!" He shouted hysterically, motioning a few Irken soldiers to capture her. Gaz was so completely focused on Zim that she didn't notice her attackers before it was too late. Three came and grabbed her from either side, restricting all moments in her limbs. The Swollen Eyeball agents in the crowd reacted, bringing up their guns to shot at the Tallests, but they were too close to Gaz.

"Don't shoot!" Dib screamed, giving away his position, Zim turned to see Dib awfully close to the ship, armed with weapons. Zim quickly stood up and blocked the Tallests from any harm.

"Soldiers, attack the big-headed child!" Zim ordered. Some soldiers went towards Dib, fighting him off, quickly tossing the gun away leaving him defenseless. An agent tried to assist Dib by shooting at the aliens, but was subdued only mere seconds later by a soldier near the crowd. The people within the crowd began to panic, and the Swollen Eyeball members tried to scurry away, but many were stopped and captured. Utter panic enveloped the Square as gunshots were fired, and heads were rolling. Gaz felt helpless as she was dragged into the ship, even though she tried fighting back with all her might, she was overpowered by her attackers. Before disappearing into the ship, she looked and saw Zim's head turn towards her, her amber eyes meeting with his curious ruby pools. She huffed a few times before, being overcome by irrational anger and fury.

"ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMM!" She shrieked, "I HATE YOU, ZIM! _I FUCKING HATE YOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUU!"_ her voice had cracked at that last 'you', and tears began to stream down her face. She finally vanished into the vessel leaving those last words to burrow into Zim. Hearing those words made his chest burst; he literally felt his squiddly spooch shatter into billions of pieces, leaving only dust. He felt an unbearable pain flood into his chest. He felt his knees weaken and he almost wasn't able to stand. His chest throbbed in unthinkable pain; he winced at the ghastly pain that swarmed over him. He literally thought he was dying for a moment.

More and more humans were beginning to be dragged into the ship as prisoners. Red laughed maniacally as he watched the humans wither beneath the feet of the Empire. Purple nervously laughed along with Red, trying to make this situation seem normal. Red reeled back in his laughter and as his face filled the holographic screens all over the world, and he spoke out to its billions of pathetic viewers.

"We are the new rulers of this planet! You bow down, or die!"

***Stabs* oops, clean up on aisle seven O.o I don't even know what to write for author notes anymore...**


	12. Service

Dib paused to wipe the sweat from his brow; the hot sun blazing across his skin; making it feel as though thousands of micro fires were scorching every inch of his body. He panted a few times as sweat continued to drip off his body. He jabbed his shovel into the dirt for only a moment of rest when he heard the crack of a whip.

"Come on, you filthy beasts! There's no resting when you serve the Empire!" an Irken supervisor croaked. Dib took the shovel into his hands again, diving it down into a pile of mined ore, placing each fill into carts.

_I serve no one_, Dib thought, continuing his work. It had been three weeks since the Irken Empire had invaded Earth, in those weeks he had become a slave to them; becoming established in Tucson, Arizona, where he was ordered to mine ore from copper to coal for the Irkens to use as resources. Ever since Dib's plan had failed, he had been stepped and spit on by the ugly, foul beings. The human race became nothing but worker ants for the Empire, it didn't matter who you were, you could be squashed by any of them at a given moment for no particular reason. Many were established at this specific camp along with Dib, mostly kids from his school and even some Swollen Eyeball members. Dib's hand slipped and he winced, turning his palm over to observe his left hand: blistered and bloody. His hands had not been calloused enough yet to handle the work, but Dib felt that he'd eventually get used to it. Eventually... How long did he really plan on staying here? Working beneath the feet of the Irken race? Continuing his work; he couldn't help but feel guilty about how all this happened. The plan he had should have accounted for everything, yet it hadn't; now Gaz was God knows where and it was all his fault! He shouldn't have let them take her away, in fact, they shouldn't have even gone to the plaza at all! They could have hidden together in their little sanctuary, but no, he had to be the hero; he had to save Earth! And now where was he? In the dry, hot sun; dehydrating slowly, without any knowledge if his little sister's whereabouts. Gaz, he silently called out to her, please be okay...

0

Gaz's eyelids slowly opened, wincing at the pain that stabbed around her body. The laser cuffs that bind her hands hung high up as she sat on the floor of the cell; the blood from her arms quickly draining, leaving even more pain to cause her discomfort. She sighed as she felt infected wounds puss out her side and face, it had been three, pain filled weeks since she had been brought onto the massive, the only Irkens she had saw were the ones who threw her in her solitary cell the first day. After that, she only heard voices of the extraterrestrials, only today would be different. The doors that led into the prison hold slid open, revealing a short, but terrifyingly muscular alien. He trudged over to her cell block staring inside, he gagged at the sight of her.

"Disgusting little human." His deep voice gagged.

"You're not so pretty yourself." Gaz insulted. The alien made a motion to grab something from his belt, but he suppressed his anger giving out a menacing snicker.

"You're lucky the Tallests request your presence, puny Earth child." he replied darkly as he unlocked the cell, stepping inside to undo her bindings. Once they were off, Gaz grabbed and rubbed her wrists, finally receiving relief from some amount of pain from the last three weeks. The relief was ended quickly when the muscular Irken pushed her forward, causing her to fall on the ground and shut her eyes tightly, trying to hold the tears back from her wounds opening. The green alien chortled in response as she raised herself up; he pushed her forward again, and this time she walked.

They made their way down a corridor; many armed Irken guards holding their posts stared at the strange child. Gaz looked around the ships interior, mostly maroon colored walls and floors, with endless hallways with hundreds if doors that could have led anywhere. She was continuously pushed forward until she they reached a large, maroon door, ad they slid open, they were both acknowledged by two female Irkens. They were both identical to one another and Gaz wondered if they were twins. They had dark blue eyes and curled antennae and were both wearing blue uniforms that matched their eye color. They stepped closer to the two and looked curiously and the odd human girl.

"We'll take it from here." they said in perfect unison. The muscular Irken opened his mouth to object, but the dangerously questionable glare coming from the twins made him step down. He nodded, and then turned to exit the room. The strange twins circled Gaz, they lifted her arms and observed her condition; after looking they whispered something to each other, which really irritated Gaz. She didn't really like it when people talked about her, and she was starting to feel a little self-conscious. One of the twins nodded and cleared her throat.

"Well, you certainly need some cleaning up, and," the twin began.

"Your wounds will also need to be addressed." The other one finished. It was strange, even their voices were eerily similar. They both motioned her to move further into the room, it looked sort of like a spa, the room smelled of sweet incense; it wasn't humid though like a spa would be. Why would it? Irkens have a weakness to water. Instead, they led her to a little private cubby with a bath filled with a strange orange gel. Gaz raised an eyebrow at the strange substance but gasped when she felt the twins tugged on her clothing. She jumped back slightly, cheeks burning red, both from anger and embarrassment. They looked at her quizzically and then realized why the human was acting strangely.

"We need to address your wounds," one said.

"This requires you to remove your clothes, but not to worry," the other added.

"We're the only ones in here." They said together. Gaz didn't know whether to be creeped out by them or thankful that they were at least being polite. Gaz grumbled in response but agreed. She reluctantly took her clothes off; starting with her shoes and ending with her shirt. She kept her bra and underwear on, keeping the last shred of dignity she had. She made a glare that dared them to object and they accepted it. They motioned her to sit down, but when she did a shot of pain filled her side. She looked down and for the first time, really got a look at her wounds. The one on her side was about the side of a baseball, and it was completely filled with puss, no doubt from the scrape she had after being thrown into the ground into the cell block three weeks ago. She looked at its horrendous appearance, no wonder it hurt. She also looked at her right arm which had a nasty bite mark, it too filled with puss, from when an Irken bit her when she had choke hooded one while she was being transported to the massive. She also had many bruises and cuts from the beatings she had before being left to rot in that cell, covering her body from head to toe. It's a wonder she stayed conscious through this whole ordeal. The twin Irkens made her lay flat on the table, they squeezed out some strange liquid onto their hands and reached for her wounds. Once their hands made contact with the wound in her side, Gaz screamed in agony. It hurt. It was worse than spraying disinfectant on a cut; worse than accidentally getting hand sanitizer on an open wound; this felt horrible. The substance literally burned her skin; Gaz squeezed her eyes shut to brace the pain. She bit her lip till she tasted her own blood. The liquid was actually closing up her wound as it was gently being rubbed, all the bacteria and puss dissipated as the healing liquid did its work. The other win did the same with her bite, this time Gaz was prepared and stuck through it. The liquid was also placed on her cuts and bruises until they all finally disappeared. When they were finished, she sat up and looked around her body: not a scratch. Even some of her old scars from long ago seemed as though they never happened.

"Wow..." Gaz marveled. The two Irken twins motioned her to what seemed like a bath, the orange gel sloshing around inside made her a bit uneasy at first. She reached a hand in and found that it was warm and slippery looking, retracting her hand, she found that that her hand was completely dry, but now was clean and smelled very pleasant. She decided that if the liquid would not get her underwear wet that she wouldn't have to take them off. Plus, it was embarrassing.

She stepped into the warm gel; the odd feeling of the gel on her body was strangely comfortable. For the rest of the treatment, her hair was cleaned and her body was washed, but when she was given service clothing to wear, she finally understood: she was to be a servant. It's not like she hadn't expected this, she knew that they would have made her a slave eventually; they couldn't have just made her stay in that cell forever, could they? She sighed as she slipped on the clothing, adjusting the uniform to her liking. It was a dark maroon, much like the color of the ship itself. It had long sleeves and it was, in fact, a dress. It wasn't flowy, but it wasn't tight either, it reached her knees and was striped much like an invaders uniform. Gaz however, added her skull necklace to complete the look. She had to admit, the outfit was pretty cool, but it still didn't change the fact that she now served the Irken Empire.

The sliding doors to the room opened, and a thinner alien stepped into the room. He spoke to the twins, and after a few nods and gestures, motioned Gaz to come forward. Gaz stepped forward and deduced that she had to follow the thin Irken. She did so, exiting the room and following him down yet another endless corridor. Gaz might have felt relaxed two minutes ago, but now she was on full alert. She knew that she couldn't just blindly attack and try to escape. Even if she wanted too, she wasn't equipped to do it. Though her fists were dangerous weapons, they were no match against the technology that these foreign beings possessed. Even with the correct supplies, she would need a plan; know the layout of the ship. Even though she had been here for three weeks, it had been in a dark room where she didn't know where was located. No, she couldn't just blindly attack now. If she was going to survive, she needed a strategy, she needed to scheme. All in time, Gaz thought as both of them reached a massive door which slid open, revealing two, incredibly tall Irkens; one dressed in Red and the other in Purple.

"Good evening violet-haired child," Red chortled, a wicked smile forming on his lips. It sort of creeped Gaz out, that smile if his; it made her feel incredibly uneasy. Purple nodded to the guard to leave; the guard bowed in return and left behind the sliding doors. There was no doubt about it, she was in the throne room, or the alien equivalent of one. It had two large maroon thrones, with abnormal gems glistening in them the room was very large and behind the thrones was glass that showed the view of the universe around them, Earth appearing behind the two tall aliens. Gaz looked longingly at the Earth; her home. She wondered where Dib was, if he was even okay. She prayed silently that he was. Her attention shifted however when she saw the Red Irken walk down the steps that led from the thrones to the floor, followed by the Purple one. The Red one approached her and hummed thoughtfully; the Purple one eyeing her curiously. It was the Red one who spoke first.

"By now, you should have figured out that we are the Tallests; the rulers of the Irken Empire." He stated proudly, "I am Red. And this," he pointed to the Purple one, "is Purple."

_Fitting_, Gaz thought as she observed the strange pair, they weren't that tall, they were about as tall as Zim. So much for rulers, she mentally sighed. Purple cleared his throat and began to speak to her.

"Filthy little Earth creature," he said casually, "you have been assigned as a servant to the Irken Empire. You should act and behave like one while you are here."

"And if I refuse?" She countered. Red smiled curtly at her response. He liked her feistiness, it was...alluring.

"You die..." Red responded. Gaz sighed and after a moment looked up at the two leaders.

"Looks like I have no choice." She mused. Red chuckled at her answer. He leaned closer to her face, an Gaz was getting agitated by the invasion of personal space, at that strange look she was getting from him; it was really creeping her out. She could practically feel his breath on her face and it was creeping her the fuck out. She stared into his blood red eyes, seeing he own reflexion within them. He chuckled again darkly, a bead of sweat formed on her face, why the fuck was this guy so fucking close to her?

"You're right, you have no choice." He said lowly.


	13. Sweet Things

**I hope you had wonderful Holidays :3**

Gaz wobbled down one hallway of the Massive, carrying a tower of sweets and other snacks; the food stacked so high she could barely see where she was going. From donuts to Cheetos, Gaz cautiously made her way to the Tallest's throne room. For the past couple of days she had been pushed and ordered around by every Irken on the God-damned—Irk-damned—whatever, ship. 'Slave this,' and, 'Slave that,' she was worked into the ground. She had almost punched one female for saying her face looked like a Vortion's dungglepod—whatever that was, but Gaz didn't think it meant as a compliment. Needless to say; that Irken was to think twice before asking something of Gaz again. Now here she was, moments away from dropping all this junk food on the floor, and it was incredibly frustrating. Imagine, about a month ago she was a normal teenager, with confusing emotions and worrying about getting her assignments done. Now she was serving the Irken Empire and its disgusting and; really creepy members. Especially that Red guy, why the fuck was he always giving her funny looks and being up in her face? It was really fucking disturbing. She felt better when she served both Tallests at the same time, or just Purple, but when it was Red alone…she wanted someone to just shoot her. She didn't know why, but she was always on her guard when it was just him; there was just something about the alien that made her uneasy. Gaz approached the throne room's large door, and after a moment, it slid open; Gaz carefully stepped inside.

"Thank you for the report, you're dismissed." Purple sighed to another Irken in the room. Gaz heard a grunt from the Irken, and heard him get up from a kneeling position and begin to walk away. She couldn't see him well, on account of the snacks obstructing her line of sight, but she could tell he was tall; about as tall as the Tallests, which was strange because everyone on the ship seemed to be midgets compared to the Tallests. Gaz kept her steady pace towards the tall rulers as the other Irken continued his path the opposite way, toward the door. The mysterious Irken stopped in his tracks for a moment, but then continued and eventually exited the throne room. Whatever strange premonition he had was quickly forgotten. Gaz fumbled a bit before carefully placing the tray of treats on a table between the two thrones. She rapidly turned to leave, but before she could take a step, she heard a cough come from one of the Tallests, and she could guess which one. _Not this guy again…_Gaz mentally seethed, she reluctantly turned around to see Tallest Red grin at her wickedly; his hand impatiently tapping his throne's armrest. He smugly chuckled and he made a face that said, 'forgetting something?' Gaz suppressed an annoyed sigh; she knew what he wanted.

"Do you need any more assistance…Your majesties?" she said with fake kindness, she even curtsied to complete the act. Her actions received another chuckle from the Red dressed alien, exposing his sharp, razor like teeth. Gaz was starting to feel uneasy again.

"Why, yes, you can," Red said motioning to the tray of snacks, which Purple had already reached in to grab some treats, "feed me." Gaz's eyes grew wide at his request; his wicked smile grew further at her reaction. She hesitated for a moment, but accepted the fact that she had to obey to survive. She reached into the pile of goodies; grabbing a muffin. She presented the muffin to him, but he scolded her; opening his mouth and pointing one of his three fingers to it; then proceeding to put his hands behind his head. Gaz grimaced and broke a piece off; slowly bringing the sweet snack closer and closer to his mouth. She saw the saliva increasingly excrete from the roof of his mouth, the long striped tongue awaiting his _sweet treat…_She quickly placed the first bit in; trying to make this as painless as possible. Red chewed the treat slowly; admiring how just by touching the succulent food source, she had made it taste the sweeter; he wondered exactly how she would taste... He opened his mouth again to receive the rest of the half eaten muffin. Gaz again slowly went to place it into his gruesome mouth when he roughly bit the tips of her fingers. Gaz yelped and quickly withdrew her hand; looking over to the damage done. Examining her hand, she noticed a slight bleeding coming from her index finger and tall (middle) finger. She silently growled when she heard him snigger again. Red watched her as she eyed him hatefully. Irk was she exhilarating! She had tasted incredibly delicious! Her blood had such a sweet, coppery taste to it. His half-lidded eyes wondered about how her ears, her neck, or maybe her lips might taste…

Gaz was amazed by Red's stunt, and was about to speak her wrath, when he said she was dismissed. She huffed, and sharply turned to walk back down the stairs; continuing to hear the teasing laughter coming from Red. She didn't care about how a 'servant should behave'; she stomped out of the room making her way down the hallway toward the servant living quarters. She almost pushed the small sliding door open herself. She snarled, shoving other servants out of the way; making them quickly fall and grumble at her roughness. She reached her metallic, hovering cot, and roughly rested herself on it. She growled again, turning her body against the wall and closed her eyes. If she ever lived long enough to be free again, she would _fucking_ kill that red dressed creep!

*o*

"Alright, day's over! Return to your designated resting areas! You'll need rest for the morning!" a female Irken soldier cackled. The irony of this was that it was already morning, three-thirty to be exact. The human slaves also had to get up at five-thirty to mine; and if you cannot solve this simple math problem, it gave the humans only two hours of sleep. Dib dropped his shovel down, cracking his back before being shoved by other workers to their tents. Many of the faces Dib saw were filled with despair; their dirty locks which stuck to the back of their heads from the day's work. How the dark shadows around their eyes indicated the pain of starving; the sleepless nights they had; the constant strain of labor that the alien scum forced onto them. Their faces were sadness incarnate. Dib walked to his tent, number 4209, a number that was his identifier; a number encoded into a black bracelet, which the Irkens gave out to them to identify who was slave and who was an un-captured rebel. He stared down at the bracelet. No one called him by his true name anymore; not even his fellow people; just 4209.

"I hate that number." Dib grumbled, laying on the blanket-less, and rocky ground. During the day the desert was hot; but at night it was cold as ice. Dib, like many others, suffered the cold nights, sometimes only getting a few minutes of sleep. Dib shut his eyes and hugged his arms; curling his legs inward towards his stomach; trying to get as much warmth as possible. Dib had seen a lot in the past month of slavery; he saw people die tragically from cave-ins, from slow starvation, and from the Irkens who felt like they didn't try hard enough. They worked just like the rest of them. As Dib clutched his empty stomach, breathing deeply as he felt his bruises and cuts throb in pain, he wondered silently: would he too end up like those others who had died? Become weak and die slowly serving the slime that had taken away everything from him? Took away his home, his family and friends? Would he die like his father had? Dib's eyes slowly opened, and his eyebrows furrowed. No, he wouldn't people still needed him; Gaz still needed him. He wasn't just going to give up and starve to death; he wasn't going to die yet. Even if it meant stealing food, and other supplies, he was going to find a way to save Gaz, and the Earth. His father always said that he had the greatness in him to change the world. He wasn't going to let his father or Gaz down. He knew what had to be done now. Dib shut his eyes, hoping for sleep to come. His large brain needed rest; for soon, he would need to think of a plan; a plan that would save the world.

*o*

Zim sighed deeply, lying in his quarters; rubbing his temples. Being the Irken General was incredibly stressful. It seemed like every second someone came barging in with questions or random updates that he had to present to the Tallests every day. Though everyone obeyed him, and he was in charge of the greatest military the universe had ever known, he knew that he still felt that horrid pain in his chest. He still felt terrible about what he did to Gaz. In truth, he had been searching for her on the ship for weeks now, but to no avail. Even today in the throne room he could have sworn that she was the servant serving the Tallests, but he couldn't be sure. Those last words he heard her say haunted him. _Zim, I fucking hate you!_ How those words tore apart his soul! Killing him there would have been less painful then living with those words ringing in his head; those words that were branded into his squiddly spooch. Zim ran his hand through his antennae. _Why must she torture Zim so?_ He wondered. He tried to relax and try to get rid of the pain swelling in his chest, but his inner invader chided him instead. _Get a fucking grip,_ it said; _you have everything you could ever want, why is a puny human preventing you from being pleased?_ Zim took a few shaky breaths, clutching the chest piece of his new uniform. The bright crimson cloth was decorated with medals and symbols of authority; everything he could have ever wanted. Why was it that when he had _everything_ he wanted, he felt so empty? His inner invader still awaited his answer. And after Zim took a few moments to search for an answer, he answered the question.

"Because," he started; removing his hand from his chest. He closed his eyes as he marveled at his new found answer. He smiled. "Because…she's important to me."

**Short chapter, kinda cheesy, just putting in some filler until the BIG drama bombs!**

**Reviews kick-ass guys, they make me happy…plus I'd like to know if the story if up to your standards. **

**New chapter tomorrow. Peace out guys B)  
**


	14. Revealing

**A/N: You all might need some popcorn for this…get ready…**

Sirens, it was always sirens. The bellowing booms that came from them always gave Dib a fright when the work day started once again. Dib shook awake from the horrid sounds covering his ears to block out the deafening noise. When the sirens ceased, he let go of his ears and rubbed his eyes. He had actually gotten the most sleep than he had in the previous weeks. It was very uplifting; though he was still physically exhausted. His mind however, had just enough charge to scheme some more. Dib arose from his tent, alert and focused; first thing was first, his brain needed food; more than what he was granted to eat. The food lines were starting to form and Dib sprinted to get a decent spot; those at the back of the line rarely received any morsel. Dib shoved his way to his spot in line; kindness was not important today. Survival of the fittest: a saying that was taught to thousands of people through time. To survive, Dib knew he had to play dirty or even be a little selfish in order to make his way out of this work camp. As he continued to make his way in line; his shoeless feet ignoring the rough stones that cut through his skin, Dib planned and schemed a way to fill up his empty stomach. Small bowls were handed out each human slave; in order to keep the humans alive, food was essential. Some bleekosprout stew was sufficient. It had a taste of rotting socks dipped in raw sewage, but it provided the nutrients needed to survive, and it was better than starving to death; though, not as many were lucky. Dib was handed his bowl and he approached the pot of stew; it bubbled and burped as an incredibly small portion of the stew was slowly poured into his bowl. Dib quickly shuffled to an open spot where his hands slowly dived into the stew, taking small portions on, letting the food last long. The fools who horked down the stew were only making themselves hungrier; Dib knew that the only way to sustain his hunger was to eat more slowly. He ate until the last disgusting taste of the slop was finished. Though he felt fuller, he knew he was still hungry, and if he was going to eventually escape, he was going to need a lot more food. He looked around for a while until his eyes landed on a container one of the Irken soldiers had pulled out of his PAK. The container had looked like it carried many supplies, including something that appeared to be food. Dib watched as the soldier took it out and licked his lips; whatever it was, it sure looked better than the crap the rest of the humans were eating.

A variety of bickering voices aroused Dib from his deep thinking. He turned his head to observe a pair of men fighting. He couldn't make out what they were arguing about, but it was quickly getting aggressive. After a moment of harsh yelling, one of the men threw a punch at the other. The Irken soldiers, who were on duty, began to make their way to the disturbance. Dib watched as the Irken with the snack put it back into the container and followed the others toward the men and tried to break up the fight. Dib looked to the fight; then to the container, this was his chance. All those years sneaking around in Zim's base really were beneficial in this situation. He crept stealthily to the container while everyone else was distracted by the fight. He never took his eyes off the soldiers to make sure if one of them started to look, he would be able to pretend he wasn't doing anything wrong. When he reached his destination, he glanced to the container, reaching inside quickly and rummaging through it. When he grasped the snack he quickly dove out of anyone's sight. He hid behind a large boulder, tearing apart the snack; he grabbed one of the treats, it looked like a small biscuit; experimentally placing it in his mouth, he was delighted to discover it had a cheesy taste; like Cheese-its! He slowly continued to eat the delicious, cheesy food; hiding the evidence when he was finished. Dib finally felt satisfied for the first time in weeks; today was just the beginning of what was to come, and Dib smiled as he reveled at the thought of his revenge. This was just only the beginning.

*o*

Sirens. Those fucking God-damn sirens. Every fucking morning the sirens would wake Gaz up, and damn, did they piss her off. They woke her up from her peaceful dreams of being back home on Earth, revealing the nightmare she was truly in. It was like this every day. Sirens, get up, get dressed, go serve. Sirens, get up, get dressed, go serve. It drove her mad, she barely got enough sleep as it is, she didn't need some obnoxious sirens telling her what to do. Today was going to be different though, she was going to get clean. The servants were only allowed to be sanitized once a week, and in baths that were of less quality than the one she had been the first day of servitude. No matter, she was tired of being dirty and being in the same dirty outfit day after day, so this time, she cleaned herself in the time that was given her, and she had become completely relaxed in that time frame. While she laid in the strange orange gelatin, she meditated to clear her mind. At first it was easy, she had trained herself for many years to calm her mind, but something was bothering her; a few _things_. She scowled as her calm state was shattered by the imaging of that creepy Red chuckling evilly. She looked down at her left hand, observing the bite marks from their previous encounter the day before. He had some nerve pissing her off like that, usually those who did didn't live to see the next day; only in this situation, killing one of the leaders of your enemies without any weapons or any means of winning, wasn't such a good idea. She knew she would get her revenge one day, maybe not today, or tomorrow, but boy would she invoke her wrath on the creepy-ass alien. Gaz took a deep breath and laid back into the bath, she could invoke wrath later, this was her only chance she could relax this week; she didn't need aggravating dumbass rulers to ruin it for her. She attempted to empty her thoughts again, but something else was preventing her from doing so. She tried again, but failed, she slammed her hands into the orange substance in frustration, causing flicks of it to fly out of the bath. She breathed a few long, deep breaths and closed her eyes. _Zim…_

She tried to get him out of her mind, but he didn't seem content with leaving. She hated him, she hated him! After all, he completely ruined her life! He had taken away all the things that were near and dear to her. Her home, her family, her life; all were now gone and erased from existence. Even if she ever did escape, it would never be the same. She would be on the run from the Irken Empire; she would have no father, no one to take care of her. She only hoped Dib had made it and was still alive, but she couldn't be sure. It was always best to assume the worst, that way; you couldn't be hurt as easily. Well, she should have used that logic with Zim. He had lied to her, taken her trust; her heart and mangled it with his lies! He had completely shattered the world she had known, he had killed her without drawing blood. Gaz felt tears began to form in her eyes, but quickly wiped them away; a series of beeps warned her that her time in the bath was almost up. She tried to capture some lasts few moments of relaxation, but her mind was completely filled with Zim. Her hatred for him had completely boiled over, but the more she thought about him, the more she kept remembering all the good, fun times she had with him. Those days at Bloaty's, at the park, at the arcade; she hated to admit it, but those had been some of the best days of her life. She bit her lip to hold back the tears. It was hard to remember the good of someone you hate. God, why did he have to lie?! Why did he have to make her feel for him? He could have hypnotized her or threatened her, each would have been less painful, but befriend her? Make her feel for him? It killed her. She got out of the gelatin and put her now clean uniform back on. She stepped towards the exit and sighed, wiping away another tear…_another day of serving shits,_ she thought, stepping through the sliding doors.

*o*

Zim briskly walked down a corridor on the massive, trying to escape an annoying little Irken that was assigned to be his assistant. The little guy only reached a quarter of Zim's height; he could easily kick him out of the way. Problem was, he had already done that so many times, and the little bastard still followed him. It was _scary_. He had little pink bug-eyes and straight antennae; he was missing a few teeth and therefore, spoke with high pitched lisp. He was always telling him his appointments and duties of the day; only constantly reminding him and following him everywhere. There was no moment of peace! Whether he was in the baths, in the dining halls, or the Tallests throne room; there was no escape from him. Zim thought he lost him and slowed down; he mentally sighed and then wondered, _where did I need to go again._ He looked right and left in confusion, but completely shot out of his uniform when he heard a voice he completely loathed.

"Mister Zim?! MISTER ZIM!?" Zim's assistant called out. _Fuuuuuuucckkkkkkkkkkkk..._Zim thought, turning sharply and started sprinting away. He didn't care anymore; he just needed a moment away from the annoying little creep! He just kept running, passing by numerous Irken soldiers and service drones, though all they saw was wind past them. After cutting a few corners in various corridors, Zim looked back to see if his annoying assistant was still following him. Slightly relieved that he wasn't, he accidently rammed into someone; pain sparked around his body as he tumbled to the ground. _Damn,_ he thought as he rubbed his head that he hurt in the crash, and when he opened his eyes he couldn't believe what he saw. There on the ground, sitting across from him, was a human, but not just any human. No, a normal human did not have glistening violet hair or glowing amber eyes. Zim's ruby orbs enlarged in surprise, it was her; Gaz. Gaz too rubbed her head. God, these damn aliens had some nerve…yet when she looked at her attacker, she was completely frozen. The two stared at each other for a few moments; no words, no actions; just staring. The silence between them did not last long however, for the calling voice of an annoying little assistant rang in their ears. Zim shook himself awake and, without thinking, grabbed Gaz by the forearm and led them both into a large room with a gap as a door. The room was identified as a storage room where many snacks for the Tallests were stored. Zim pulled themselves to the right of the room, bracing Gaz against the wall, hiding both of them well in the shadows as he peered back to see his assistant continue down the hallway. When the voices were no longer heard, he sighed in relief and turned back to Gaz, realizing he was holding her wrists in place against the wall. He looked at her and to his amazement; she had no anger in her eyes, nor sadness. In fact, her entire expression was completely surprised, a 'what the fuck just happened' kind of face. She looked so lovely like that; so peaceful. It was not to last however; Gaz's eyes quickly narrowed on the hated Irken in front of her.

"Zim…What are you doing? Let me go!" she fumed, trying to squirm her way out of his grip.

"Gaz, wait I…"

"I said to fucking let me go!" she warned. Zim lowered his head down to her level, so she could see him better.

"I just want to…"

"No! I don't want to talk to you, EVER! So just leave me alone!" she screamed. Zim frowned in her response, but then scowled. He rapidly shook her toward him so she would look at him, tightening the grip on her wrists and shoved her back into the wall.

"Listen to me! Please!" he angrily pleaded. He observed the fact that she was a little terrified now, her anger and bravery a moment ago shattered by his violent response. He sighed sadly, looking down at the ground, ashamed of his actions. He didn't deserve to talk to her; in fact, he didn't even deserve to see her again. He knew all the things he had done were unforgivable; he knew that she was to never trust him again, but he needed to do something! He needed to tell her what she needed to know. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm so, so sorry. I cannot imagine how you must feel about me. All the hatred that has been brewing against me, and I understand it. I deserve it…" He paused, not knowing how to continue, he felt that if he just spoke, the idea would come together. "I betrayed you, took away everything that you held dear to you. I killed your father; though, I did not yield the blade, I am the reason he's dead. The reason why you're here, the reason why the people of Earth are suffering; I am the reason why you don't have a place to call home…and I'm the reason why I have completely destroyed your life…" Zim's voice cracked at those last words, but he knew he needed to continue. "I cannot express to you my sorrow, how sorry I am to have done all this to you! Even though I knew all this would happen from the beginning, even with that knowledge I still did it; knowing it would hurt you! Looking back, I didn't deserve your kindness, your smiles, your laughs, your trust; none of it! How could I? _How_ could I? You Gaz are a higher person than I. You didn't need a monster like me ruining your life. A monster like me…" he loosed his grip on her wrists, his head still low, avoiding her gaze, "doesn't deserve anything." He had let go of her wrists and was now supporting himself with his palms on the wall; he waited for her to leave him there.

Gaz did not move; she had taken everything he had just said and let it in. She didn't really know what to say. She wasn't expecting an apology such as this coming from him; it was, unexpected. _What are you doing?_ She heard herself question, _get the fuck out while you still can!_ But she did not move, she only watched the alien before her; his sad and somber appearance made her heart ache; God the things that he did to her. She didn't really know how to respond. Should she just leave? I mean, she kind of had somewhere to be, I guess, yet she felt that she couldn't just, you know, leave. She thought about what he had said, he seemed so truly sorry, but was sorry _really_ going to cut it? He said so himself, he took _everything_ away from her, is that grounds for just a 'sorry'? How could she trust him, after everything he had done before; how could she be so sure he was telling the truth? She tried to search her brain for an answer, but there was just one question that kept screaming at her. A question she had been dying to know the answer to for months, a question that could make all the difference in the world right now. She looked down at the Irken in front of her; she had to know the answer.

"Zim?" she whispered, Zim froze and did not move. "Zim, look at me." She said with more confidence. Zim slowly lifted his head up, seeing her glorious amber eyes; he nodded once, indicating that he was listening. Gaz looked into his ruby pools, they instantly made he relax, after a few steady breaths, she continued to answer him. "Zim, I-I need to know something…" Zim nodded in response, silently eager to what she was going to ask. "Zim, a few months ago I had gone out to town on a cold and dark rainy night. You had saved me from a cold death, and healed me when I had hypothermia. You had laid me down on your bed in your base and comforted me when I told you about my life, and then you…" she trailed off, trying to hide the blush forming around the thought of the memory. "But, I believed it to be a dream…" she continued, trying to see if she was getting any reaction from Zim. He was completely stoned face, attentive to her words. "Well, I guess what I'm trying to ask is…" her half-lidded eyes gazed into his own, "is…was it all really a dream?" Gaz waited for his answer, the silence was unbearable, but she was patient. Zim looked and admired the person who stood before him, a person he had such great friends with; a person that had made him feel accepted; a person that had put trust in him. He knew he wasn't going to abuse that trust ever again, that's why he had to tell her the truth. He put his hands on her shoulders, and it was like being in that alley again. He looked at her with a serious face close to her own.

"No," he whispered back, "no, it wasn't a dream." Zim didn't have time to react before he felt her lips crash into his. Her eyes were already shut when his were so wide he was afraid they'd pop out of his head completely. Her heart and his squiddly spooch started to beat wildly, Zim thought his chest would burst from the intensity of the beats. She snaked her arms around his neck and leaned him closer into her. Zim was frightened, and scared, but it was alright because he had, in fact, done this before. He closed his own eyes and lifted her higher on the wall for better access, supporting her with his hands on her hips. Gaz quietly moaned as she felt his tongue lick her bottom lip, asking for access, which she quickly granted. His long tongue glided over her own, tasting the sweetness that he had missed since that rainy night long ago. He didn't let this opportunity to go to waste. He entangled his tongue with hers, enjoying every moan that he felt coming from her. Gaz rubbed little circles on his back and yelped when she felt him nibble her neck. Zim laughed as he continued to bite and kiss her neck. She shivered when she felt his tongue lap over his love bites, she curiously wondered about his antennae; they were, by nature, strange. With her index finger, she traced a line up and down one of his antennae, causing her to feel him moan on her neck. She began to increase his pleasure by using three of her fingers to rub them, switching over to each one. Zim was thrilled by her touch; it was exhilarating, but torturous. He went crazy when he felt her kiss his right antenna; feeling her tongue lick the scruffy feeler. To stop her, he reached back up to kiss her. She cupped his head in her hands as their tongues continued to wrestle with each other. Zim lowered Gaz back down, but still kissed her even when her feet reached the ground. He ran his fingers through her hair, wishing his damn glove was off so he could actually feel the softness of her hair. They stopped to breath, both looking at each other dreamily; both blushing hard. Zim reached his hand up to caress her, and she leaned into his touch, sighing at it. Zim reached in closer and stole another kiss from her, which she returned eagerly; their tongues inseperable. They abruptly stopped when they heard a voice coming from the intercom.

"Servant Gaz must report to the Tallests immediately. Repeat: Servant Gaz must report to the Tallests immediately." The monotone voice said, going out with a click. The couple in the dark storage room panted silently. Speechless about what had just happened. Zim smiled and ran his hands through her hair once more.

"They wish to take my little Gaz away from me," he chuckled. Gaz smiled back blushing at his actions. Zim's squiddly spooch soared seeing her smile, he hadn't seen it in so very long. He snatched a peck from her before he went to leave, but Gaz stopped him. She had taken hold of his hand and he eyed her curiously.

"Zim…I-I love you…" she sputtered, blushing deeply. Zim was awed, he had read up on 'love' before, but never knew what it felt like. From what he read, the emotion was exciting, warm, happy, and painful all at once, and from what he had been experiencing before, Zim accepted that this had to be the emotion that had been torturing him for months. He smiled at finally knowing how he felt. He eyed her happily.

"I love you too, Gaz…" he replied. This made Gaz incredibly happy; this had been what she had wanted from the start. She knew Zim was truly sorry for what he had done, and she forgave him. How could she not? She loved him, she couldn't lie to herself. He had pulled her heart's strings and made her fall for him, and it was wonderful. As they quietly exited the storage room, going separate ways, they knew that they had to be careful and secretive, no one could know about this; about them. It didn't stop Gaz from feeling invincible and giddy. As she made her way to the Tallests throne room, she had to resist the urge to skip down the hallways. After all, she had confessed her love and her love had loved her back; how exciting could you get? Approaching the throne room, she didn't care what was happening right now, everything was going to be okay in the end.

Or so she thought…

**A/N: Bitches be pleased. My first kiss scene, huh, I'm not sure if it's good. Know how I could find out? *leans in closer* if you reviewed me…..**

**FINALLY! WHAT YOU ALL HAD BEEN WAITING FOR! AND THIS TIME NO ONE WAS A KILLJOY! **

**It's because I kept Gir locked up this time…**


	15. No Choice

**What up guys! Enjoy my massacre of love :3**

Gaz entered the throne room wordlessly; plastering an expressionless face; hiding the unimaginable joy that she had felt just moments ago. She knew she needed to act normally, for any slight difference could arouse suspicion among the other Irkens. No one could know about Zim and her; if anyone knew, they wouldn't understand. It seemed, forbidden, in a way. They were two completely different species, people would shun it! And come on, the servant girl and the general? Please, no one would buy that. Still, despite knowing these things, Gaz wouldn't have it any other way. Though her heart still pounded in her chest, she was able to act like nothing happened as she made her way towards the Tallests. They were speaking with another Irken; a very short, straight antenna, bug-eyed, lisp speaking one. Purple had been rubbing his temples furiously and red was breathing in angry breaths.

"I'll fucking wring his scrawny neck!" Red shouted, the words echoing off the walls. He looked around for something to relieve his anger, settling for the wall of the ship, putting a dent in it. Gaz stared in shock, _God this guy has anger _issues, she thought. He sharply turned to Gaz; his eyes still burning with anger and frustration. He softened his expression to her for a brief second. "Clean this up." He sternly ordered, pointing a pile of glass gleaming in a pool of purple liquid. Whatever, it was just a small cleaning job; nothing she couldn't handle. She sighed and reached into her pocket; taking out a dirty rag she kept at all times. She began picking up the shards of glass careful not to cut herself, and as hard as she tried, she couldn't help overhearing the disgruntled conversation happening between the three Irkens in the room.

"Irk damn it! This has gone far enough!" Red growled, pacing around to control his anger. Purple continued to rub his temples; he groaned as if something or _someone_ was just too painful to even think about.

"Seriously, we give him one job! And he can't even show up to his own debriefing!" Purple grumbled, wishing he had a snack to calm his nerves. The small, trembling Irken in front of them shrugged his shoulders sheepishly.

"Well, he has a busy schedule, but now that you mention it General Zim doesn't do many of the things the schedule says..." The small Irken flinched, prepared for a blow to come for speaking out against a superior. When one didn't come he opened his bug-eyes slowly, to find the Tallests nodding at the statement. The small Irken sighed in relief, wiping imaginary sweat off his brow. Gaz couldn't help but listen even more acutely at the mention if Zim's name. She slowly walked to a hover can to dispose of the glass, glancing ever so slightly toward the three conversing aliens.

"As if he wasn't useless before, now he's at a high position in Irken society, and he can't even do the simplest duties of a general!" Red roared, pacing some more before abruptly stopping; taking in one long, deep breath. He then smiled evilly, and began to laugh maliciously, his insane laughter made the others in the room feel uneasy. "No matter, it's not like he's really the general anyway. He won't be an annoying pest to us for much longer..." he giggled.

"What do you mean by that?" A voice interrupted the three Irkens; causing them to quickly turn their heads in the direction of the voice. Their eyes fell and narrowed on the human servant in the room. _Ooooohhh ffffffuuuuuuucccccckkkkkkk_... Gaz thought to herself. She did what no servant should ever do: speak out. Damn it, her feelings for Zim were going to fucking get her killed. She was curious though, what had Red meant by, "he won't be a pest much longer"? She didn't like the sound of it and needed to know, but at that moment with all the questionable stares she was getting; she really wished she hadn't spoken out. She nervously grinned. "Uhhh, well I'm done, so I guess I'll be going…" she said sheepishly, turning and starting to walk to the exit. She was not even a quarter of the way to the exit when she heard Red call out to her.

"Wait a moment, human…" he said, making Gaz stop dead in her tracks. She made a 'oh shit' face, not moving another muscle. Red looked over to the two others in the room, he looked deep into their eyes, giving them a deadly glare; his words spoke different. "Would you two gentleman mind leaving me to talk to the servant for a moment…alone?" Though his words seemed harmless, his glare made the Purple and the assistant squeak and escape his glare; quickly moving themselves out of the room. Once both of them were out of sight, Red turned back to Gaz. He admired her for a moment, the way her ruffled uniform was draped over her body; her curvatures showing slightly. Her medium length, violet hair, cascading down her back, some strands sticking out here and there; matching her personality; her flawless porcelain skin was practically glowing even in the well-lit room. She was ravishing. Gaz was feeling anxious in the silence; _just kill me now, _she thought, _anything but this unbearable, dramatic silence! _She shuffled a bit, causing Red to return from his gawking and remember what they were doing. He scoffed and cleared his throat, "Turn around and face me." He ordered. Gaz gulped and slowly began to turn around, this was it. She was fucked. She wiped the nervous expression from her face, displaying her usual emotionless self; though inside she silently felt uneasy; she had always hated being alone with the Red leader. It had been ok with the other two in here, but no, she had to fuck it up and be left in a room with some creepy ass Irken, who pretty much wanted to cut everyone up and drink their blood. She stared back into his curious eyes as he began to circle her like a predator circles its prey. Fitting. "So," he began, "The little human is curious is she?" he circling was making Gaz nervous, and she unconsciously was forming sweat on her forehead. He smiled wickedly, scoffing at her. "What? Is your question gone? Speak up! Tell me, what is it that you ask?" he had stopped circling her, and now was bending down, mere inches from her face; giving her a questionable look. Gaz, took in a few breaths, why did this guy freak her out so much? She, the great and deadly Gaz was being put off by just a strange alien! She wished he could have been just strange, but he wasn't; he was, deranged; mad. She made no emotion of her true feelings, ensuring her confidence would exceed in this situation.

"I was simply wondering what you were planning…Almighty Tallest Red…" she said simply, staring straight into his eyes which held such intensity in them. He answered her with a crazed chuckle, if she didn't know better, she would have expected him to jump up and down and clap his hands together insanely too; it would fit his laugh. She still held her neutral face firmly, trying to keep hold of herself in this potentially dangerous conversation. Red stared at her in awe; she was thrilling! She was such an evil child, oh he marveled at her spirit. Speaking out against her leaders without caring? Oh, was she a daring woman! He just loved the fact that she was now inquiring about how he was going to destroy Zim. Maybe they could plan and discuss his horribly delicious murder together. The thought of her grinning wildly with him, gave him such a satisfying pleasure. He began to turn his body to the glass of the throne room that displayed all various stars and moons, as he stared in that vast space, he knew that after conquering every single star that he wanted to share it with someone. According to Irken tradition, two Tallests of same stature were chosen to rule until one would either die, or one had found a mate. He didn't want Purple to rule with; Purple was weak, soft-spoken, and always agreed with what he said. He wasn't cut out for political or militarily adept positions; Irk knows why he was gifted with such astounding height. So when he saw this deadly enchanting young woman, whose evil ability to doom chilled him to the last fiber of his being; this chaotic demonic angel was the one who he wanted; to possess her, to rule with her, to mate with her. He faced her, a wide smirk plastered on his face; he took a few steps towards her.

"That Zim! That Zim! Oh, I have plans for that pathetic excuse for an Irken! Oh, he had had his uses, small as they were; I'm even surprised he didn't fuck up the mission to shut down the Earth's precious resources! He has been a blade in my side for quite some time, and now he has proven to be completely useless to me!" He had been shouting, almost screaming these words out. Gaz's expression faltered slightly, the crazed alien in front of her was actually starting to scare her, his expression was blood thirsty with a mix of…of…lust? He turned towards the stars again, as if he was going to scream it to the heavens. "I'M GOING TO SLAUGHTER THAT WORM. I WANT HIM TO BLEED AND SUFFER! I WANT HIS BODY ROASTED AND BLOOD TOASTED TO THE SERVANTS OF THE IRKEN RACE!" He bellowed, laughing manically.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He heard a voice shriek with terror. Red blinked in surprise and turned to Gaz, she was now on the ground; trembling, her amber eyes filling with some liquid substance; tears. Even though she had trained herself for years to dissemble her true emotions, Zim had changed all of that. Staring his death in the face was enough to break her, and she cursed herself for doing so, but right now, the image of Zim's lifeless body next to her was not an option. She couldn't help but feel the tears brew in her eyes, she loved him damn it! She couldn't just shrug this demented alien's threat to kill Zim off; she was just too emotional at the moment. (Fuck hormones and fuck love) Red walked over to her trembling frame, and looked down at her in astonishment. She had been so powerful, so dangerous; now she was broken down? This was impossible. No? No to killing Zim? No to murdering the slime that killed her father? No to the foul, ugly swine that took everything away from her? Was she lagging in intelligence? He continued to stare quizzically at the strange human female, until his expression softened in realization; then going to a cold and dark one.

"Ohhhh," he whispered darkly, "I see…" He reached down and gripped her hair, forcefully pulling her head up to see him. Gaz winced and groaned in pain, watching his eyes grow into a bloody, murderous red. For the first time in her life, Gaz Membrane was fucking terrified. "Hmmm…the little Gaz has _feelings_ for our little imbecile…hm?" he spat, enunciating the 'f' in feelings. She glared back in fear that their secret was out, what would he do now with that information? She was tossed a foot away, Red scratching his head furiously; not taking this well. He couldn't believe that that _freak_, that _fool_, that _fucking_ imbecile could have won the heart of the violet-haired demon! It was unreal! This just made him want to kill Zim even more, to tear through his abdominopelvic cavity and rip out his squiddly spooch and force Gaz to eat it while his dying corpse watched! Red gritted his razor-like teeth together, and squeezed his fists together, cracking the knuckles from the force. His anger quickly formed into conniving wit, as he quickly found the situation to his advantage somewhat. He knew that she was going to be his mate either way, no matter what anyone said or _was!_ He turned back to her, completely calm, and approached her. She had already stood up and was preparing for the worst, but let her guard down slightly after hearing a chuckle coming from the red dressed leader. _This guy is fucking bipolar…_Gaz thought. "You have no idea how much I have longed to kill that maggot…" he laughed, scratching his chin. Gaz's expression became sad and Red noticed, time for his plan to be set in motion. He smiled and continued, "I won't kill your beloved Zim, but in return, you need to do something for me…" he said sing-songy. Gaz didn't like that creepy look coming from Red, but at this point she had no choice, if bribing was going to save Zim, she had to take the chance. She shut her eyes to take it all in, but opened them quickly, for she knew what her answer was to begin with.

"What is it?" She questioned. Red was pleased she had complied so quickly. How could she not? He knew her weakness now, and would use it to its potential. He grabbed her chin and lifted it up to meet his longing gaze.

"According to Irken tradition, two rulers of equal height rule until one dies, or one finds a mate." His eyes narrowed further, and Gaz paled. "I simply ask no demand that you become my mate, to rule by my side over the Irken Empire, do this, and your lover shall be spared." He let go and left Gaz to stare blankly as he walked up the steps to his throne, sitting down on the large furniture piece, leaning his head on his hand and tapped his other fingers on the armrest. Gaz continued to look forward, completely dazed by his request. Her wide eyes did not blink as she took in shaky breaths. Red could not help but smile maliciously at her, she had been defeated, she had nowhere to run; she was _his!_ "Well, _my_ little Gaz? What's your answer?" he queried. Gaz shut her eyes in defeat, she had nowhere to run; this was unavoidable, she would do it, she _had _to, for Zim! She turned toward the cruel and evil Irken sitting on the throne, and nodded once, holding back the urge to cry, she wouldn't cry in front of him like this, she wouldn't lose her dignity.

"I…a-accept, but you are not allowed to touch Zim." She reminded darkly. Red chuckled crazily, he had won! He always got what he wanted, no matter how great the prize!

"I can assure you _my_ little Gaz; I won't harm a single antenna…"

*o*

Back on the Tucson slave camp, it was just about time for the work day to quit. Dib was preparing for this moment all day. He had overheard from the soldiers that they were going to celebrate their success in bringing it the most resources to Irken Empire, and that they were bringing griko juice. From observing Zim over the years, Dib had found out that griko juice was basically Earth's equivalent of hard liquor, though it didn't have the same effect on humans or vice versa. This was an incredibly lucky chance. While all the Irkens were, 'wasted', he would steal a weapon or two from them. Weapons were going to be essential in this escape, and if the only way was going to steal them, so be it! When the sirens signaled the day was over, Dib quickly rushed over to his tent, laying in it, adrenaline pumping for what was to come. Once everyone was in their tents, Dib overheard the Irkens in the background laugh and speak rigorously. After an hour, Dib was sure all of them were _gone_. Even the watch guard had been sloppily drinking the griko juice. Dib strategically crept out of his tent, looking over the landscape for sober Irkens. Dib snuck up to the party area, using the rocks and boulders to cover him. Gazing over one, he found a group of them passed out. _Some party_, thought Dib, looking around for any signs of danger. When he saw a few guns on the ground and a small metal looking device, he decided to make his move. Jumping over the rubble, he tiptoed and made his way past the sleeping Irkens, careful not to wake them up. As he reached over to pick the weapons up he was startled by an unexpected guest.

"What's up guys?!" a drunk obnoxious Irken intervened. Dib froze as the Irken, which turned out to be the guard, stared at him stangely. The Irken gasped and Dib thought he was done for. "Lieutenant Seep!" he exclaimed, "I-I-I don't know what to say…" the Irken blushed furiously. Dib wanted to slap himself in the face but it was interrupted by the alien quickly approaching him. "Oh Seep!" he continued, "I-I have liked you since the first day at the academy!" he confessed, bringing Dib into a tight embrace. Dib struggled to breath in the **Irken's** grip; he looked at the weapons that hung from his uniform's belt. He reached his hands to grab the weapons, but was squeezed tighter. Dib wheezed from the lack of air and found no way out of this situation but one.

"I-I have like you too!" Dib answered back and the Irken let go in astonishment; backing away slowly.

"Really? T-that's great! Come here!" The drunkard leaned forward; Dib punched him swiftly, knocking him unconscious. Dib shuddered in disgust, grabbing the belt that was draped in weapons. Dib sighed and quickly retreated to his tent, feeling a wave of relief when he reached it. Once in his tent, he took a large rock and pushed it out of the way, revealing a large hole beneath it. He plopped the weapons in the whole, moving the rock back over it; hiding the evidence from anyone. He sighed and collapsed on his tents floor, instantly falling asleep, content that everything was going according to plan.

**A/N: Lol funny at the end happy New Year guys! And oh! I'm pissed off at Red! SO INFURIATING! ….Review! *echos* ****review review review review**


	16. Announcement

**Note: holo-mirror is like a holographic projected mirror….**

"Red, are you sure about this? I-I mean humans are smelly, dirty, ugly…" Purple rambled; cowering when he noticed Red was now dangerously close to his face growling aggressively. Purple flinched and shuffled out of Red's frightening glare, waving his hands defensively. "N-n-not that she _is_ any of those things," he recovered, awkwardly laughing like it had been a joke, "b-but are you sure this is the right decision? Making her your mate? She _is _human after all…" Red looked at himself in a holo-mirror, adjusting his luxurious, crimson uniform; you need to look good when announcing such a splendid event to occur. Red stoically smiled in appreciation of his garments; clearly more elaborate than his old co-worker's. Red histrionically turned to Purple, exposing a fatuous smirk. He rested a hand on Purple's shoulder, not for a second dropping his arrogant appearance.

"Why, of course! She's just…delectable," he said, licking his lips with his incredibly long tongue, "she will make a fine mate, and you will be our royal, and trusted, advisor; as tradition states." Purple sadly sighed; he had enjoyed being a Tallest, no one picked on him like they used to…but tradition was tradition, and because he was the royal advisor, he still had a high level of authority. He nodded once and his sad expression vanished; replaced with a slight smile. After all, his friend was going to do the ancient mating ritual; he was at least a little happy for him. Although, the way he had said 'delectable' was sort of creepy…Purple put his arm on Red's shoulder.

"Well then, it's your decision." He said simply. Red only nodded and looked at himself in the holo-mirror again. _Damn, aren't I a devilishly good looking Irken?_ Red thought smugly to himself. Without looking at Purple, Red spoke his wishes.

"I want you to request that _all _Irkens come to the throne room for the announcement at 16:20 Irk hours." He said more of a command than a wish; Purple grunted in agreement, exiting out of Red's quarters. Red could not help but madly chuckle, his eyes glowing with a darker shade of crimson.

"Well Zim, how will you like it when I make you watch as I forcibly take your lover to be my mate?" He scornfully said softly.

*o*

Gaz wiped a few tears from her face; she needed to be strong in a situation like this. She was in the new bed chamber Red had given her after she agreed to be his…mate. She looked at herself; she couldn't lie, the dress she was wearing was incredibly stunning. The material was draped and folded over diagonally; the flowing garment had small ruffles at the bottom that fanned out at her knees; the 'V' shaped strap was twisted and had tiny Irken symbols on it. The color had matched her vibrant hair color. The chest of the dress was marked by its big, black Irken symbol, a mark that showed who she now belonged to. She didn't care if the dress was incredible, that symbol, that accursed symbol had beaten her, and all she could do now was to live the rest of her life incomplete, unhappy, and dispassionate. She glanced at an Irken clock: 16:10. _Won't be long now_, she thought sighing sadly. Purple had simply told her to go to the throne room at 16:20 Irk hours and gave her this insanely spectacular dress; nothing else. She had been confused, but figured the worst of it. Wasn't this a little too soon? He had "proposed" to her yesterday and they were to be married, or whatever Irkens do, the day after? It didn't matter her fate was sealed; her cruel and torturous fate. _Who are you? _Gaz heard her inner self question, _the Gaz Membrane I know is strong and fearless, she isn't disparaged by anybody, and she certainly doesn't take this kind of shit from anyone…_

"_That Gaz Membrane isn't gone…_" she firmly stated, "I just don't have a choice anymore. He would have killed Zim if I didn't comply…just because I gave in, doesn't mean I'm weak. I am sacrificing my happiness for him…I am strong; I have to be, for Zim." Her inner self vanished from her thoughts, when Gaz was right, she _was_ right. She was indeed strong; exceptionally strong, and she would prove it by marching to the throne room, with a face that showed not even the slightest hint of emotion.

*o*

Zim sighed contently; his squiddly spooch was still soaring from his last encounter with Gaz. Her image flooded through his entire thoughts. Her touch still lingered on his antennae and he shuddered at the thought of heat that he felt burning through her kisses. He leaned back against the wall of his quarters; hand on his chest. Oh, how he treasured her; these emotions he had buried inside for so long had just exploded out of him and flew into the confines between her lips. Finally knowing what the small four-letter word with a vast meaning was, he wanted to repeat it over, and over again! Love, love! He loved her, and she loved him back! It was such a marvelous feeling! He knew; however, that their love was to be secret; hidden from the eyes of the other members of his race, yet this _forbidden love_ made it much more exciting. He imagined what their passionate rendezvous could be like: the warmth of their embrace, their chest organs beating as one, the soft, sweet taste of their kisses. It was enough to make anyone melt! Dreamily sighing again, he smiled at this astounding and powerful feeling; he loved this feeling. A buzzing from his PAK indicated a message was being sent, and a long metal appendage flew out and displayed a holographic image of Tallest Purple.

"Good day, fellow Irkens. As a reminder, the Tallests request that you all are to report to the throne room at 16:20 Irk hours, which is in one minute, for an important announcement. That is all." The hologram spoke, after finishing, powered down. Zim raised an imaginary eyebrow in confusion as the metal appendage retracted back into his PAK. _An important announcement? I wonder what it could be for…_he pondered, exiting his own chambers to the throne room.

Going down the corridor, he noticed many other Irkens making their way to the throne room as well, the lowly servant drone chatting obnoxiously, while others of high positions, like soldiers and Zim, silently scuffed their way to the Tallests throne room. A path was made for Zim to enter the room first, everyone else followed behind him, filling the spacious room. The thrones had been buzzed down, replaced by a flat platform. Zim had taken a spot in front of the crowd as others continuing their discursive conversations. Suddenly, the lights in the room dimmed, and a great, bright spotlight rested on Tallest Red and Purple, who suddenly appeared out of thin air. Zim wondered if they were going to use lasers again, but when no lasers came, waved the thought off. Red stepped forward triumphantly, and waited for the voices in the room to silence. He scanned the crowd, and once his eyes found Zim's, he sneered.

"My fellow Irkens," he began, opening his arms to welcome them, "Today is a great day indeed. We have received many materials and precious metals from Earth, and it was even Taco Tuesday, but an even greater event has happened." He paused, allowing suspense to seep through the crowd, even Zim was curious; what could be possibly greater than Taco Tuesday? Zim stared at his Tallest and could have sworn that he was staring directly at him. Red was indeed staring at Zim intently, wanting to see his face when he revealed it… "As many of you know, Irken tradition states that two Tallests of equal height must rule until one dies, or," he paused again, making sure Zim was looking at him to see this, "or, one finds a mate…" Zim's eyes squinted in confusion, mate? Red smiled evilly, "I have found a mate worthy enough to be mine~" motioning to a dark spot on the platform which quickly was hit by another spotlight, revealing a expressionless human, fantastically dressed in beautiful attire. The elegant human was none other than Gaz. Zim's squiddly spooch dropped like a ton of lead, his eyes went wide, and his antennae dropped slightly; he could feel his knees suddenly get weak. _What?_ Red moved towards her, using one of his fingers to lift her chin towards him, his face centimeters from her own. "And she~," he added teasingly staring into Zim's eyes so he could see his crumbling reaction, "has complied~" he finished, using his long, snake like tongue to lick her cheek. The crowd began to cheer in response, but Zim wasn't breathing, how was he supposed to breathe again? Just in and out? In and out? He felt his squiddly spooch tear, and watched in horror as Red defiled her cheek with his tongue. What was happening? Gaz was to be Red's mate, and she _complied?_ Where was he! Certainly he was having some sort of nightmare; his love, his Gaz, the mate of his Tallest?! Why, no _how_ could she let this happen?! This couldn't be real. He waited for her to shove Red off, to punch him and give him her flippant attitude, but it didn't come. She _let_ him do that to her…_how could she_? Zim thought, completely distraught over what was happening. _How could she?_

Gaz winced at the strange contact of Red's tongue across her skin, but held her ground; she wouldn't reveal the hatred raging inside of her. She was only allowing him to do this because she couldn't do anything else; she was trapped, trapped by the evil and disgusting Irken who continued to lick around her cheek. She held back the urge to punch Red, but decided to observe the crowd to get her mind of the awkward, slimy feeling building up on her cheek. The cheers were egregious and cacophonic, you would think an interspecies relationship would have been shunned by them; maybe they had wanted Red to get 'hitched'. Scanning the crowd, her heart stopped when her eyes fell on Zim. He had such an elegiac appearance, as if he was about to break down and cry. His eyes asked, "Why", but she couldn't answer him, it hurt her so much to see him like that; she couldn't help but wonder how betrayed he must feel, and he would never know the truth. That she loved him with all her being; that Red had threatened to kill him and so she agreed to become his mate to save him. Red had forbidden her to have any contact with Zim; and so her new found love had been shattered and left to erode. Zim would only remember her as a traitor to him, the person who crushed his squiddly spooch. Realizing this, Gaz's eyes flickered in sadness, but she quickly recovered and returned to her expressionless form.

Red stopped his licking, marveling at her extraordinary sweet taste, her turned and silently chuckled at Zim's broken expression. He stepped away from Gaz, and made a hand gesture; obviously requesting silence. When the cheers ceased, he continued, "Our ancient mating ritual will be performed in four days; I'll give my pet some time to prepare," motioning to Gaz, "after that, she will be your Queen Tallest, and as tradition states, Purple has been appointed to be the royal advisor…" as Red went on explaining, Zim had been tuning him out. That look that Gaz had in her eyes before…could it be what he thought he saw? Sadness? If that was the case…then maybe…

"Thanks for coming everybody!" Purple chimed in, "You may return to your posts!" The crowd made their way out the door, the soldiers now even participating in the gossip from the exciting news. Zim, with his head down, walked out and down the corridor toward his quarters; contemplating about everything he just saw. He knew what he saw, her eyes didn't lie. He had known her for too long now to be wrong about her. She wasn't pleased about this, something must have happened to make her do this…but what? Zim's squiddly spooch still stung from the horrors he witnessed, he entered his chambers sliding doors; once they closed he flung his gloved hand to his chest. He just hoped he was right, so that this pain would cease.

*o*

Gaz stormed into her new quarters, locking the doors with a holographic keypad automatically. She grunted as she threw an innocent hover chair across the room, shattering it against the metal framework of the wall. She groaned and stared at the Irken symbol on her chest, narrowing her eyes at it and swiftly reached a hand to it, tearing it off the fabric and tossing it into the pile of metal that used to be the hover chair. She collapsed at the foot of the bed she was given; tears welling up and spilling over her eyes. She curled her legs in and rested her head on her knees. All she could she was Zim's forlorn expression, as if his world had been destroyed. The tears flowed and her silent cries echoed off the walls of the lonely room. She wished that she could tell him about the situation, but it was impossible. She was not allowed to see him, and now all she would see from him would be a disappointed and sad expression. She would no longer feel his warmth that came from their hugs and his smiles, or the felicity that came from his presence. She let the tears pour out, no amount of tears would repent for what she had done to him.

_Please Zim,_ she begged in her mind, _please forgive me…_

*o*

Dib cracked his back, this hard work was brutal at times, but it was really making him develop some muscle. The assistance from the extra food snacks he stole from the Irken soldiers was helping him grow stronger too. He picked up a large iron ore from the pile of mined ore and was carrying it with others behind him to a hover cart. He was about to drop it in when a scream came from behind him; Dib turned around to see an Irken soldier punishing a teenage girl with a whip. As the girl used her arm to shield herself, the flesh was seared causing a loud cry to escape from her. When the Irken stopped, he returned to his post as if nothing happened. Dib quickly placed the ore in the cart and made his way towards the girl. He kneeled down and extended a hand to her; she looked up and wiped a pain filled tear away. Her lavender hair had a black hair band in it; her brown eyes looked at Dib curiously.

"Dib? I-Is that you?" the girl said, accepting his hand and he assisted her in getting up. Dib tore a piece of his shirt off and tied it around her wound arm to stop the bleeding. He looked around and when no one was looking, took her behind some large boulders. Once out of sight, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of the cheesy snacks, the same snacks he had stolen the day previously; handing them to her. Her eyes widened and she swiped the snacks from his hands. She greedily ate them fast, no doubt her incredible hunger was getting in the way of enjoying them.

"Wait!" Dib warned, "Eat them slowly, it will make you feel less hungry." She stopped and began to chew them slowly. Dib sighed in relief. The girl stared at him in astonishment.

"Is it really you Dib?" she questioned.

"Oh yeah, how do you know my name?" he asked her instead of answering her question.

"It's me, Zita from Skool? We've been going to the same skool's since elementary skool." Zita informed. Dib was stunned, he couldn't recognize her. The head band was familiar, but her appearance from being in the hot sun, the absence of makeup, and the messy hair would have made anyone look different.

"Oh yeah…so how've you been?" _Dumb question_.

"Well, I have been enslaved by aliens and I have no idea where my parents are." She said sarcastically.

"Sorry," he apologized, "I mean, I just don't know what to say in this situation."

"It's okay, it's just that this whole thing has been so traumatizing." Zita said, putting a hand on her now bandaged arm.

"It won't be like this for long…" Dib replied head down. Zita looked at him quizzically.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that I have a plan; a plan that will get me and a few others out of here, one that will help in the fight against the Irkens and take back our planet!"

"Shhhhhhh!" Zita shushed, Dib's rant was becoming slightly loud, and with soldiers everywhere, one could not be too careful. Dib laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry about that…"

"What do you mean you have a plan?" Zita asked. Dib went on and explained how he had been stealing food from the soldiers and how he had stolen other materials such as weapons, tools, and even maps. He also told her how he had overheard some of the soldiers discussing the next load to be transported to the Massive. His eavesdropping had given him the information he needed; in four days' time, he planned to stun the soldiers until he got to the leader of the squadron. When he and the leader met, he would get the information of the Massive's weakness, then disposing of the leader, he would take the transporting ships to the Massive; and using the weaknesses against it, force the Irkens into surrender. Zita had been so drawn into the way he explained his plan, it was so elaborate and thought out. No wonder he had been gifted with such a large head.

"These people that you need to help you, who are you looking for?" she asked Dib.

"I would need people who are not skin and bone; people who are still strong despite what has happened to us so far." He answered. Zita nodded and thought for a moment. She then looked at Dib with a serious look.

"I know some people like that; including me." She smiled.

"As do I." Dib added. Then he reached out a closed fist to her. She giggled and reached out her own fist; bumping it into his. "Looks like we've got a planet to save." He said.

**A/N: BOOM! The humans are getting fired up! Note: I put Zita in randomly I didn't know who else to put, and I'm not making them romance it up.**


	17. I'm Yours

**A/N: This is for my sister so I can rub it in her face. **

The next two days had been brutal on the inhabitants of the camp. It was during this time that Zita and Dib had been scoping out potential candidates for, 'Operation Take-Over'; a name that Dib obviously gave to this mission. So far a few had come to their liking. In total, six of them had impressed them. There was Torque; a hulking jock that had gone to their hi-skool. Also, when asked, were Agent Disembodied Head, Agent Nessie, and Agent Tunaghost from the Swollen Eyeball. Dirge and Mary-both students from their skool, were also candidates for this operation. They all were strong; despite the harsh treatment that they were all given. At the end of the day, when all of them were in their tents, Dib and Zita woke them up and took them to their, 'secret spot' aka, behind some boulders. Under the cover of night, it was fairly easy to escape detection from the Irken soldiers. The candidates were utterly confused and whispered questions, but Dib silenced them when he took out an object that resembled a gun. Panicked, Mary almost screamed, Zita put a hand on her mouth. Dib grabbed Mary's arm hand held up the 'weapon' against her black encoded bracelet. The 'weapon' sputtered an electric pulse, destroying the code within the bracelet; making it useless. When the rest solved the conundrum of what was going on, they relaxed, and allowed Dib to do the same to them. Once Dib was finished, they sat in a circle, letting the cool night air relax them.

"What the hell are we doing out here 4209?" Mary asked grudgingly. Dib looked at her sharply, "4209" was _not_ his name. Mary flinched when Dib's expression was low and dark.

"My name is _Dib,_ otherwise known as Agent Mothman." He said lowly, looking over to the Swollen Eyeball members to make sure they understood. The name sprouted memory in the candidates and a harmony of "oh's" washed over the group.

"So? Like 57-, I mean, Mary said, what the hell are we doing out here?" the hulking teenager Torque asked Dib. Dib and Zita reached into their pockets, bringing out glorious cheesy snacks. The candidates' eyes grew wide with hunger, their mouths watering at the sight. They reached for the treats, but were stopped by Dib.

"Eat them _slowly_." he informed, staring directly at Torque, who was completely hypnotized by the food. They all nodded and Zita began to hand out the snacks to each of them. They did as they were told and ate slowly, savoring the taste. Many audible moans came from them; the food was incredibly delicious. After they finished, Dib had dug a garbage hole and placed the trash within; burying the evidence.

"I'm still curious," Agent Nessie spouted, "what _are_ we doing out here?" Instead of leaving them in the dark longer, Zita nodded and Dib cracked his neck before speaking.

"We are out here because Zita and I have chosen you six to assist us in our mission," he said dramatically, "our mission, is to defeat the alien scum and return Earth to our control!"

"SHHHHHHHHHHH!" the group shushed at Dib. Dib rubbed his neck, laughing nervously.

"Sorry…" he coughed.

"So wait, you want us to help take back the Earth?" Dirge questioned.

"This is quite a feat young man," Agent Tunaghost said, "How do you expect to do it?" The rest of them nodded in response to Agent Tunaghost's question. After all, this was a HUGE idea; a simple fight wasn't going to get them anywhere. Dib silenced their fears by telling them his plan. About how in two days, a transport ship would arrive. They would stun the guards, get to the leader of the squadron, find out the weaknesses of the massive, then with that information, attack the Massive; forcing the Irkens to surrender. The group was in awe about hoe Dib explained it. It was like watching a movie, so detailed and elaborate, it just might work! Dib also moved a rock, exposing a hole; reaching into it, he grabbed a few weapons and handed them to the group.

"We'll use these to stun our enemies," he told them, throwing a large gun-like weapon to Torque, who drooled at the sight of it, "Hide them until it's time to act. We will need a strategy to stun the guards, but for now, get some sleep. You're going to need it." Dib advised, putting a hand into the group. Each of the members began to reach their hands in, the last hand belonging to Agent Disembodied head. "Operation Take-Over is in progress!" Dib said triumphantly, the group raising their arms in the air.

*o*

"Masta?" a familiar high-pitched voice spoke. Zim looked down at his cyan-eyed SIR, patting him on the head; then turning away.

"Not now Gir," Zim replied, going back to his notes. He was trying to concentrate on the next potential spot the Irken Empire could garner resources from planet Earth. Maybe South America or Africa! It didn't matter, he just couldn't concentrate. Gaz still troubled his thoughts; did he see what he saw? Or did he see what he wanted to see? These thoughts were aggravating; in truth, he wanted nothing more than for this whole mating event to be a charade; a joke. If it was a joke, it wasn't funny. He wanted to find out how _she _felt about this. He tried to approach her, but every time he tried, he was assigned to do something, and dragged away to complete his duties. It was as if they were trying to keep him away from her… He began to scratch his head; these thoughts were making him antsy. There had to be an explanation for this, she didn't love Red; did she? He had more power and authority than Zim, but that wouldn't make Red a worthier mate; did it? She didn't do this just to be Queen; did she? She loved him…Didn't she?

"_I love you…"_ Gaz's voice replayed in Zim's mind. He growled, powering down the holographic map. He rubbed his temples furiously; she was too confusing; it hurt to think about her! His concerned robot put a hand on his arm causing Zim to look down at the adorable robot. Zim smiled slightly, but it faded when he stood up from his hover chair.

"Go play somewhere else Gir," he commanded softly, "I'm going back to my quarters." The SIR unit's cyan eyes narrowed to red, saluting his master; then walking out the sliding doors of the office to torture other Irkens on the ship. Exiting his office, Zim took a left turn down a corridor. With his hands behind his back, he slowly made his way toward his chambers. His antennae drooped in sadness. Even when she had shattered his squiddly spooch into pieces, she was still on his mind. He didn't care that she was to be Red's mate; it didn't change how he felt about her. He still loved her, and her kisses still lingered on his green lips. He could still see her warm smiles, and feel the feeling of their embraces. Yes, he still loved her. His antennae rose up, and his eyes narrowed, and he _knew_ she still loved him! She had to! He _knew_ what he saw! She didn't want this! She didn't want to be the mate of that atrocious, disgusting, detestable Tallest! He didn't care that he was speaking out against one of his leaders; Red had crossed the line, he had taken something that belonged to him. Gaz's heart was his and his alone. Not some Red creep's! He began to furiously march furiously, turning into a wider hallway; inching closer and closer to his quarters, but almost stopped in his tracks when he saw someone; and his squiddly spooch skipped a beat.

*o*

She didn't want this! She didn't want any of it! Gaz growled as she left her new bed chamber, shuddering in disgust at the thought of having to share a chamber with Tallest Red in two days' time. The thought made her gag. God, how was she going to live through this? The only thing that kept her going was that Zim would still be alive, and even if she couldn't speak with him, she could at least see him from a distance on occasion, even if his expressions would be, less than warm. She was trapped, and she felt suffocated by this hopeless situation. It was a win-win situation for Red. If she had said, "no", Red would have murdered her only love, leaving her to be taken by Red. And though she said, "yes", she had been taken by Red, and Zim was dead, metaphorically speaking, of course. She sighed as she continued walking down a wide corridor. That look on Zim's face when the announcement occurred ate away at her soul. It felt like someone had stabbed her in the heart repeatedly; leaving her blood to pour out of her; leaving her to die. She _felt_ like she was dead…she silently wanted to be dead. Zim probably hated her, and wished she was dead too. She felt her eyes start to water, but kept them inside. No use to waste her tears now. She kept her head down, her violet locks shadowing over her eyes. Her heart was heavy in sadness, and it hurt to even think about Zim. She continued to walk with her head down, but felt a strange and familiar presence around her.

*o*

Zim knew he needed to act now or she would just walk past him without a second thought. She was staring down at the ground and probably didn't even notice his presence. His eyes darted around the hallway; trying to be certain that they were the only two around and that they weren't being watched by anyone. She was a few steps away from him now, he was petrified. _What should I do?_ Zim inquired himself, he was still frozen. She was now about to pass him; he felt her warm presence and familiar scent come through to him. She shook him awake from his frozen place and he acted! He reached back and grabbed her arm, her head rising up in surprise. It all happened so fast and so slow at the same time, Zim wasn't thinking straight as he would have like to as he dove into his quarters letting go of Gaz's arm, causing her to almost lose her footing and fall on the floor. He locked the sliding doors with an electronic keypad, swiveling around to see her. She was staring into his eyes from across the room; her hand rubbing the pain from his firm grip on her right arm. For a moment, only silenced filled the room. Honestly, Zim hadn't planned this far ahead. Step one: apprehend his love; complete…now what? He coughed awkwardly, taking a step towards her.

"Gaz…" he began, only to be cut off by his lover.

"Zim…I-I have to leave." She said, briskly passing Zim, but he grabbed her arm preventing her from escaping; she didn't dare to look at him or even turn her head. "Zim," she said harshly, "Let go of me."

"Not until you tell me what's going on."

"It's what it sounds like," she said hurtfully, causing a throbbing pain to well in her chest, "I'm going to be Red's mate."

"Why?" he questioned firmly, his grip tightening around her wrist. She winced, the pain on her wrist was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. She had to lie now so he couldn't be killed; she had to hurt him to protect him. She had to force the words out of her mouth without choking on them.

"Isn't it obvious?" she started, feeling tears forming, "He's better than you in every way. He's a Tallest. He's stronger, faster, smarter, more powerful…" Zim was hurting more with every single insult. "And he's a better kisser than you." With that last insult he yanked her towards him, causing her to ram into the edge of his hovering bed. She hid her tears well, glaring up at him dispassionately. He locked her wrists in his hands, angrily staring at her deeply, his ruby orbs glowing.

"I don't believe a word of it…" he growled, his eyes softening and his grip relaxing. That face. He was making a face that she couldn't resist, but she had to shake her way out of this.

"Well believe it, because it's the truth." She spat, escaping his grip and sped towards the door. She tried to unlock it, but didn't have the code, she sighed angrily; she felt his presence speed toward her. She turned around quickly; he was only a few steps away from her. She braced herself against the door.

"Don't come any closer Zim!" she warned, and he stopped in his tracks. Her eyes were glued to the floor, she knew if she looked up now she would surely break. "You're going to tell me the code, and then I'm going to leave. I don't want you to follow me, and I don't want you anywhere near me!" Zim continued to approach her then he reached out to her. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" she shrieked swatting his hand away furiously. Zim gritted his teeth, taking his hands and gripping her shoulders, trying to get her away from the door. She attempted to get away; fighting him off. God, why did he have to make this harder than it had to be?! She felt her expressionless self slipping; her emotions starting to take control. She was afraid of this, why couldn't he just let her go? It was better this way, why did he have to be so stupid!? She grunted and growled in her feeble attempts to escape him. She closed her eyes tightly, wanting to scream, wanting for this _damn_ pain in her chest to go the fuck away! When they were away from the door, he tried to get her to look at him, but she refused.

"I refuse to believe that you would agree to be his mate willingly!" he roared, waiting for a reply, she only looked up at him, slight tears filling her eyes. Oh, how she wished she hadn't looked into his wonderful ruby pools. "I refuse to let him take you away from me!" He wiped a tear off her cheek; squinting his eyes at her. "And Zim _will_ touch you if he so pleases!" He shouted at her; colliding his lips with her own; wrapping his arms around her; forcing her closer to him. Gaz squeaked and put her hands on his chest; attempting to pry herself off of him. She couldn't be doing this! Zim couldn't know! She had to pretend that she didn't love him to save him, yet the warmth and softness of his lips was completely distracting her. She was losing herself in the pool of pleasure that Zim's lips were offering to her. Her attempts to escape him were slowing and she almost gave away a moan. _Zim…no, please stop! I don't want you to die…_she thought to herself. If anyone saw; if Red found out; it would be the end of both of them. Yet he didn't care; despite the fact that she had, in a way, betrayed him; he still loved her. It didn't matter to him what would happen, he still would risk it all; just to be with her. She felt tears brew in her eyes and she let them fall. _He still loves me…_she thought. Her heart couldn't take it anymore, and she began to kiss him back, allowing her heart to be mended by him.

Gaz's eye-lids fell, allowing her sense of touch to be heightened. Her hands ceased their pushing and instead bunched up in his shirt. She felt her small frame lifted by her lover as he brought and laid her gently on his bed. He hovered over her, ripping his gloves off to toss them away. He ran his fingers through her delicately soft, violet strands. Irk, he hadn't touched her silky locks in such a long time, he almost forgot how they felt. They moaned in unison as Gaz began to trace sensual circles up and around his back. He returned the favor by rubbing his fingers over her collar bone. Gaz invited his tongue into her mouth, melting at the sensation of his tongue wrestling with her own. His tongue explored the wet cavity of her mouth, twisting and turning to get a better taste of the sweetness. They parted to breath, and Zim chuckled as his long tongue trailed up her neck, all the way to her ear; she began to tremble, her breath hitching at the strange contact. Zim's tongue was _way_ more pleasurable than Red's. Which reminded her…

"Z-Zim!" she shouted by accident when he bit he ear forcefully. He leaned closer into her ear; licking it slightly.

"What is it my dear~?" he whispered seductively, causing Gaz to shudder in pleasure again.

"I-I never actually kissed Red…" she said, he cheeks becoming florid in color. Zim chuckled darkly, and kissed her little nose affectionately.

"I know my sweet, I know…" he whispered hotly, and lowered his head to her neck; biting it roughly, which caused a pained, yet pleasurable sound to escape her lips. She felt him grin against her neck; he began to suckle the wound, giving her a mark; marking her as his. Gaz's body had become hypersensitive and aware of each of the Irken's touches. Each of his hot kisses that he placed along her neck and collar bone brought a new feeling of pleasure to her. Zim brought his face to hers; trailing his tongue from her chin to her cheek, then back again. God, did Zim know what made her tremble. She blushed harder, and she looked up into his deep ruby orbs that pierced through her soul and whisked her away to a world that was entirely their own. Zim began to caress her cheek with the back of his hand, and they both sighed contently. In the world that was their own, no one could say that this was wrong, no one could stop them from loving each other, and no one interfered with their relationship. In their world, they would always be together, no matter what. "I love you Gaz," he smiled, "You are mine, and no one else's." he said, bending down and kissing her gently.

"I know…I love you too…" She said smiling back.

"You're mine?" he questioned softly.

"Yes, I'm yours…" She reached up and kissed his jaw line while she twirled her fingers around his antennas. A deep moan escaped his throat and Gaz was pleased that she could pleasure his as well as he pleasured her. She switched their positions so that she was hovering over him. She bent down lower to him and licked his right feeler slowly. For Zim it was utter torture, not that he didn't enjoy it. In fact, it was incredibly pleasing, but it was painfully pleasing. He squirmed slightly under the pleasure, and she chuckled.

"Oh? You don't like that?" she teased, finding a few buttons on his uniform and unbuttoned a few; exposing his chest. His chest was very well developed and Gaz bit her lip when she began to rub his chest slowly. He was hairless, making his skin so smooth…and soft…it felt so good~. Her head lowered and she began to kiss his chest; the sudden contact of her lips caused Zim's breathing to hitch. She nibbled his soft chest as she trailed her finger up and down his left antenna; the love bites she created marked him as hers. The torture she was giving him caused him to flip her back over. He gazed down at her, breathing hard and she smirked up at him. "What? Not enjoying my teasing?" she questioned sweetly. He smiled back at her.

"It's not that, it's just I may not be able to control myself if you kept doing that…" he countered suggestively. He placed his lips with hers again. Taking in, her lovely scent, the warmth she brought him, and the feelings that came with her being around him. Their tongues travelled along the inside of their mouths; finding new pleasure points. Their moans drowned out the rest of the world and they both never wanted this moment to end. Out of breath, they broke the kiss and Zim laid his head down on her chest. The rising and falling of her chest comforted him; and the fast, yet steady beats of her heart was like a lullaby. She kissed the top of his head, and hugged him close to her.

"They will never let us be together you know…" she said sadly. Zim looked up at her and kissed her again, one of his hands cupping her face.

"We will figure out something…" He said hopefully, but Gaz shook her head, slight tears forming.

"No Zim, I am going to become Red's mate in two days. Even if you did figure out something; we would still be on the run from the Empire." Her tears were wiped away by Zim and she put her hand on his; leaning into his soft touch.

"Why? Why must you become his mate?" he queried. She couldn't tell him; it would break him. To know that your leaders actually hated you and couldn't care less if you were dead was something she couldn't tell him.

"You wouldn't understand; just promise me that you will still love me, even when he takes me…" She begged. Zim looked at her without any expression. How could this be? Even when she had confirmed that she still loved him, she was still going to be his mate? Something must have happened to make it impossible to tell him.

"You said you were Zim's…" he said dejectedly, looking into her glorious amber eyes.

"I am…and I always will be," she replied, locking their lips together again, "but I have to do this; you need to promise me…please…" she pleaded, her eyes half-lidded, yet still contained sorrow.

"Zim will love you until his _dying_ breath…" he whispered to her.

"Don't say that…" she sobbed softly.

"Say what?" he questioned; concerned about her crying.

"Don't say, "dying", I don't want you to die…" she continued to sob. Zim's three digit hand intertwined with her own.

"Zim will die, only when his Gaz commands him too…" he smiled at her. She smiled back as Zim began to wipe her tears away.

"Then never die…" she sniffled.

"As you wish…" he promised, kissing her once more. A kiss that filled them with joy, and burned deep into their chests; they belonged to no one else…except each other…

**A/N: That was so beautiful! DO I NOT AMAZE YOU!? AND THERE WAS NO SEX BEHAVE YOU SICK DEVILS! Better kiss scene? I think so. What do ya think about that jojo? Huh? HUH! That'll teach you to flame my story.**

**REVIEW! Or no more kissy scenes for you! *points a threatening finger at you***


	18. Today's the day

**A/N: In the words of Lord Tourettes: "Listen close for this tale is true, and I shall sing a **_**FUCK**_** for you" :p **

"Today's the day…" Dib said, tossing an electric stunner to Torque. The bulky teen grinned in response. Each of the members of this 'human crusade' were armed and ready; the past two days had been completely crucial for this mission. Surprisingly, each of them had background in weapon usage. Torque, Dirge, and Mary had hunted with their families before; and agents from the Swollen Eyeball were required to have background knowledge in weaponry according to protocol. Then there was Zita; her father had been in the U.S. Army and had shown her the tricks of the trade, just in case an emergency happened…and this was _definitely _an emergency. They were sitting around in their secret spot; Dib splitting them up into groups for this take-over. There were four groups in total; two people per group. In total, there were thirteen Irkens in this particular squadron. It was these aliens plus the four coming in in the transporting ships. The Irkens in the squadron were placed in lookout groups of three, excluding a group of four that guarded the Leader's tent. Dib had placed a group of two to the transporting ships. Dib knew that the Irkens driving the transporting ships had had to be of low class; in this case, working drones. Due to their lack of experience in battle, they would not stand a chance in the close range fighting style of two Swollen Eyeball agents. Agent Nessie and Disembodied Head were in charge of this group. The other groups were Torque and Zita, Mary and Dirge, and Agent Tunaghost and Dib. Each of the groups were assigned to a group of three Irkens to stun and take-out. The last four Irkens guarding the Leader's tent would swiftly be compromised by the groups—not including Nessie and Disembodied head—coming together; then, they would surround the tent, and the Leader of the squadron would have no choice but to give out the information they needed: The Massive's weaknesses.

Once the groups were given their orders; they each took a moment to sink all the information in. This was really happening; they were going to take the Earth back and they were moments away from doing it. Was it just them, or was that a lot of pressure to be placed on them…it didn't matter, they knew it had to be done, and it was them or nobody. Four days ago, none of them thought that they would see their families again…or even eat normally again. They believed that it would have just continued on, the torture, the pain, the hunger, the work; all of it would stay the same. They would have been slaves for the rest of their life. Not now though, when they were approached by Dib and Zita, they finally found hope. A door had been opened in a dark room where they couldn't find the way out. They didn't have to fear of losing anything, because they had nothing to lose, only to gain at this point. They were going to fight for this, in truth, they worried about their friends and families; this was an opportunity to find them. Dib and Zita had given them this chance…and, they couldn't thank them enough. Zita took a deep breath.

"So, you guys ready to do this?" She asked, hiding how nervous she actually felt. The others looked at each other, smiling. It was time. They nodded and Dib sent them off in their groups. It was time.

Agent Nessie and Disembodied head with stunners in hand hid behind some boulders near the landing site for the transporting ships. The ships were inbound yet, they couldn't move in to sustain the pilots until the three on-looking soldiers were compromised. Dirge and Mary had those particular three. The two previous Swollen Eyeball agents observed as the two teens swiftly stunned all three of the Irkens. Dirges quickly silencing one in a choke hold and stunning another while Mary dealt with the third soldier. Once they were dealt with; Disembodied head and Nessie crept up to different ships. The ships cockpits had been opened and were opening up the back ends for the transporting materials. Both of them crept behind the ships to avoid detection; on their count, they quickly turned to the sides of the ship, reaching and grabbing the pilots, stunning them into submission. The other two pilots quickly spun around, but before they could cry for help, Nessie and Disembodied head shot electric blasts at them, choking their cries in their throats. They moved the bodies into a hidden area; then reached into their uniforms, finding small devices that Dib said would be the keys to the vehicles. They jumped into the vehicles, placing the devices into the ships. With Dib's knowledge in Irken machinery, he explained that the vehicles only needed to be hacked with a specific code to be able to change the language into English; thus, giving them control over the ships. Using the code, they were able to gain control over the ships, observing how in fact they could fly them.

The other groups quickly finished their orders, taking out the other Irkens with ease; now approaching the Leader's tent, Dirge, Zita, Mary, and Torque quietly took out the soldiers guarding the tent. Dib approached the entrance of the tent he quickly looked to the others who nodded in response, ready for any situation. Dib took a deep and quiet breath; then swiftly opened the large tent's entrance gun pointed toward an Irken with curled antennae and dark purple eyes; eyes that could pierce the soul and kill the weak. Dib blinked in astonishment.

"Tak?" he gasped in shock. The female Captain had already pulled a rupture to Dib's throat and Dib had cringed; feeling the heat coming out from the blade's energy. She smiled curtly at him, her eyes flickered a silver electric charge, just like Dib had remembered. She put the blade closer to his neck, smiling, exposing her razor sharp teeth.

"Yes Dib, it is me indeed; the leader of your pathetic camp, and by the looks of it, this pathetic squadron." She said, implying her useless soldiers. "Even though they are the best the Irken military has to offer, they're still a bunch of insolent idiots. They couldn't even contain a harmless little rebellion such as this." She pouted rubbing a finger along the stunner Dib had in his hands. Dib could feel heat rising to his face, but he wasn't sure if it was the blade's heat, or her actions that made him feel hotter. He figured it was both. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, opening her eyes again, plastering an expression of feigning innocence. "You didn't think that your little, rabble rousing wasn't going unnoticed, did you? The stealing, the planning; why do you think I organized that celebration in my squadron? I can assure you, it wasn't done just so we could all get; oh what does your species call it?" she began to slowly tap her lips in thought. Dib's eye was twitching from her subtle yet obviously flirtatious gestures. "Oh, that's right, wasted."

"You mean…you knew this whole time?" Dib probed at her. She smiled.

"Such a smart boy…" she whispered, placing a finger on his chest, stroking it as if they were brush strokes, "Of course I knew, granted I never thought you could actually take out my entire squadron, but that shows indiscretion on my part." She looked up at Dib with half-lidded eyes, gazing deeply into his brown eyes and Dib's eye twitched in response. Jeez, this was so awkward, and the fact that she still was holding a weapon against his throat didn't help him keep his cool. She was obviously trying to use her charm and charismatic skills to distract him, and he would be lying if he said it wasn't working…Tak reached her head up closer to him, putting her mouth near his ear, making sure that Dib was the only one to hear her. "I know what you want: The Massive's weaknesses, but this whole 'crusade' of yours, it's all folly; I mean, did you actually think a couple of humans could really take down a large and powerful Empire? Your big head might be cute…but how many big heads do you need to save your puny planet?" while she asked this, she realized that something was pressed against her back.

"Dib's big head is just enough," Zita's voice called out from behind Tak. The Irken Captain looked back and saw the large weapon pressed against her back. "Now put the blade down before I blast you to pieces." Zita demanded, her threatening gaze was enough to prove to anyone that she meant business. Tak sighed and scoffed retracting the weapon from Dib's throat. "Now put _all_ your weapons on the ground and put your hands behind your head." Tak looked at her in surprise.

"Hmm, you're not as stupid as I figured either." Tak mused, reaching into various pockets and even a hidden sheath on her leg; pulling out weapons and tossing them away from herself, she then placed both her hands on her head, in which Dib quickly locked her wrists with a pair of energy cuffs he stole from one of the soldiers before. Dib pushed Tak forward to sit on a hover chair that was in the large tent. Tak looked over her shoulder to look back at Zita, "Using the back entrance of my tent, eh? Again, you're not as stupid as I thought you were…" Zita was still pointing the large alien gun at her, but smirked in response. They approached the hover chair that was near a hovering platform that was the human equivalent of a table. Once she sat down, the interrogation began. Dib slammed his hand down on the table.

"What are the weaknesses of the Massive?" He questioned dangerously, his voice raised in a threatening tone, but Tak only scoffed at him.

"You really think I would tell you? You'd have to kill me to make me betray my leaders." She responded.

"That can be arranged…" Zita added darkly, shoving the gun right into Tak's face, "and don't think I _won't_ do it."

"You think I fear death? Death is something the academy prepares us for, you _disgusting_ worm child."

"Yeah your one to talk, who would want to look at someone with _small_ features…" at this comment Tak tried to lunge for Zita, but Dib held her down.

"You little scum! How dare you say that to a superior being! We are in every way better than you! Who needs to be _large_ when you've got intelligence? It's the very same reason why the Tallests should have chosen me to be the general of the Irken Empire!" Tak fumed. Dib was intrigued by the words she had spoken; clearly Tak had not noticed that she revealed something that should have been known exclusively to her own self, yet when anger was provoked, she exposed classified information…bingo. Dib smiled at the new found information; he had her now. Dib's entire behavior changed, and he approached this new situation calmly; catching Tak off guard. Dib circled her slowly; Tak was becoming uneasy. _What's with this guy? It's like he's a whole different person now…what's he up to?_ Dib stopped his incessant circling and looked into her eyes.

"So, Zim was chosen by the Tallests to be the general of the great Irken Empire? That must have been such an honor; truly a worthy job to a worthy soldier…" Dib said nonchalantly. Tak scoffed.

"You're joking right? That, that _thing_ is not worthy enough to even lick the soil on planet Dirt! He's a buffoon, a moron, an idiot! How could the Tallests practically give away such an astute position to…to an idiot? After all the things _I_ have done for them, they have the _nerve_ to make him the general?!" Tak foamed in rage; Dib knew that he had got her in his hands.

"You're right! That's so unfair, I mean, just look at Zim he practically screams idiot, and after all that you've done, you'd think you deserved that kind of position, right?" Dib queried. Tak nodded her head furiously.

"Exactly! I have done _so much_ for this Empire. In fact, if it weren't for me, the Tallests would still be trying to find each planet they needed to conquer! _I_ placed the tracking software onto the left side of the ship. _I_ am the one who suggested making the command key to the weapons to be the Tallests names combined. _I _am the one who came up with the idea to fuel the Massive's jets with snacks by using the fuel compartments below the Massive!" Tak avowed, practically screaming out the last sentence. Tak began to pant and her eyes were tightly shut. She was just so angry and after all these years of keeping to herself, released her anger, and it felt…strangely nice. She only began to realize what she had said when Dib began to chuckle. She opened her eyes quickly in astonishment; she had openly confessed to them…she revealed information that was strictly confidential. She gave away the weaknesses of the Massive, and _helped_ the enemy. She failed. This realization caused her to be dumbstruck in her own self failure. The enemy had used her emotions to his advantage…a very skillful tactic. She looked at Dib, finding his dark chuckle and hateful eyes…curiously pleasing. A strange feeling surged through Tak…and she didn't like it one bit.

"Thank you Tak for the information we needed. Come now Zita, we have an Empire to take down." Zita turned to him in surprise as he kept walking away.

"Dib wait, we're just going to leave her here? The others were different, but you've seen what she can do, she's far too dangerous to be kept alive…" Zita said cautiously, holding the gun closer to Tak. Tak was busy thinking about this _filthy_ feeling that was coming from inside her, but she still heard what the Earth-female had said. It was a way to stop this feeling.

"She's right you know I am _way_ too dangerous to be kept alive; killing me is the best option." Tak added, causing Zita to raise a suspicious eyebrow. Dib had paused, pondering in thought; he didn't look back at them.

"No, I wouldn't stoop so low to their level. Just cuff her arms and legs to one of the tent posts." He responded. Though Zita wanted to object, she nodded and moved Tak to the middle post in the tent; cuffing her hands to it. Dib continued to walk away to exit the tent. Tak couldn't handle this, this horrible _disgusting_ feeling was inside her and she wanted it out! As if betraying your people was enough; now this feeling was torturing her! She searched for something she could say that would make her get killed, and she smiled evilly when she found something.

"I killed your father you know…" she said. Dib stopped in his tracks at what she said, and he didn't do or say anything, he only stood there; frozen. "Yes it was me; Zim was not the one to kill him. In fact, he _begged_ me to not kill him. Oh, but I sliced through his neck, and let me tell you, his blood tasted _sooooo sweeeeeeeet_…." She evilly giggled. Zita finished cuffing her hands and feet to the post making it impossible for Tak to escape on her own. Dib turned around and Tak grinned, finally expecting him to kill her and free her from this _torturous_ feeling. Dib sneered sending a chill down Tak's spine and that atrocious feeling to go through her again.

"Let's go Zita, she'll be fine. Besides, when the guards wake up in twenty four hours, they'll release her." Dib said calmly turning and lifting the tents door for Zita to walk out. Tak was distraught; she just told him that she killed his father! How the fuck was he not chopping her limbs off one by one?! She gritted her teeth; this accursed feeling needed to end.

"Didn't you just hear me?! I. KILLED. YOUR. FATHER! Why don't you just kill me?" She hysterically screamed at Dib. He just turned his head and looked at her and scoffed.

"Because I know that keeping you alive is _worse_ than death to you…" he stated ominously; leaving Tak with that _terrible_ feeling. Dib left the tent, leaving Tak to face her worst enemy: _herself._ Dib and the rest of them made their way over to the transporting ships. After a small 'lesson in driving your first spacecraft', they mounted their ships and began to fly their way out of Earth's atmosphere.

*o*

"Today's the day…" Gaz whispered to herself, looking into the holo-mirror. She looked gorgeous of course, like something out of a fairy tale; except this one had no happy ending. The turquoise twins had assisted her in her appearance her hair was perfect, the violet ceremonial dress was perfect (minus the Irken symbol), her strange alien make-up was even perfect. Only one thing wasn't perfect, and that was the man—er alien she was being 'given' to. She sighed, even though this was all to protect Zim, it hurt her so much; she wondered if this was the right thing to do…_am I doing the right thing, mom?_ She asked, clutching the Irken symbol on her chest. When no answer came, all she could do was sigh in sadness. This was unavoidable, there was no escape, all she could do was go through with it and continue on living, knowing that Zim still loved her. She brushed her hair to the side, looking at a small mark that Zim had made just below her ear. It was small enough that no one would really notice behind her hair, but she could see it; it was a reminder of who she truly belonged to…_Zim…_a knock from the entrance of her quarters caught her off guard. "C-come in!" she called out. The sliding doors opened and a Purple dressed Irken walked into the room; Purple.

"Good Day soon to be Queen human Gaz." He greeted. Gaz move toward him, plastering on an dispassionate face.

"Purple it's okay, just Gaz is fine." She said to him calmly. Purple frowned in response.

"Oh, well, alright then…" he coughed, "Well, Gaz, I am here to see if you are ready; if you are I have been told to bring you to the throne room for the ritual…" Gaz looked around trying to find an excuse to stall this ritual, but she couldn't think of one. Maybe it was destiny telling her to grow a pair of ovaries and take this situation head on. Whatever invisible energy it was, it wasn't giving her any brilliant ideas to stall time, so she gave up.

"I'm…ready…" she spoke softly and Purple nodded and began to walk out of the room, motioning for Gaz to follow him; she took one last glance at her room before the sliding doors closed behind them. They slowly made their way to the throne room, many servant drones gasped at Gaz's stunning appearance. They gossiped and said things such as, "She's so lucky" and "this must be her dream come true", but oh, how wrong they were. If they truly knew the situation, would they feel sorry for her? She didn't know the answer to that. In truth, all she knew now was that she would be living a lie. Sure being a Queen of an Empire sounds great, but choosing between that and the one you love? It's no contest, but she could only keep her love alive by becoming Red's mate. So, it was worth it to keep Zim safe, even though she was sacrificing her own happiness. They approached the throne room's doors; when they opened Gaz stepped inside, but noticed Purple wasn't following her. She looked back to him, "Aren't you coming?" she questioned.

"No, the only people allowed to see the ritual are the mates themselves and an Irken monk. Congratulations, I hope you two become very happy." Purple said with genuine kindness, yet unbeknownst to him; this relationship was all hogwash. Purple turned away and the doors came to a close. Gaz stood there silently, gaining composure for what was to come.

"Hello there _my_ sweet~ Approach us, so that we may begin…" Red's voice called out to her, Gaz looked up and saw Red in an intricate crimson uniform and another Irken who was dressed in maroon robes, literally floating by himself with no chair or any device. Apparently they had contacted an Irken monk to conduct the ritual; as according to tradition. They were simple creatures who were more of a pacifist kind of Irkens who didn't care much for the violent take overs of lesser planets. Gaz was intrigued by the strange Irken, but was sickened by the reason for him being here. To make Red and her mates…Gaz almost puked.

*o*

_Today's the day_…Zim thought to himself, throwing holographic balls of paper into a holographic trash can. He sighed, leaning back into the hover chair in his office. Today was the day Gaz would become Red's mate…the thought of Red and her together made him sick. He knew what happened in the ritual! It made him sick! He squeezed his hands together causing his knuckles to crackle from the tension. What could have possibly happened to make Gaz have to do this? Even though she still loved him, the thought of not being able to see her, hold her, or kiss her ever again mad his squiddly spooch ache, and he could do nothing to stop her. Why? Why did she have to do this? What happened? Why wouldn't he understand? He was sure that if she explained it that he would understand, yet she brushed it off as if it was nothing…He put his head down. He loved her so much…

"Squeak!" a small moose squeaked to him. Zim's head rose up.

"Oh, hey Mini-moose…" he responded, his features still forlorn. The tiny moose floated towards his face and began to squeak angrily.

"Squeak! Squeak, Squeak, Squeak! Squeaky Squeaky, Squeak!"

"What? How could you have possibly known that?!" Zim exclaimed, his cheeks becoming a deep shade of emerald. The tiny moose squeaked in a, "it was obvious" reply, and continued to squeak angrily.

"Even if I wanted to, I can't! What would I do anyway…" Zim responded sadly. Soft clatters of metallic footsteps were heard, and the tiny cold hands of a robot touched Zim's hand. Zim looked down to see none other than his faithful sidekick: Gir.

"Masta, Mini-moose is right, if you have the lovies with Gazzy, then you need to do whatever it takes to get her! She makes you happy Masta, and when you's happy, we's happy!" Gir said plainly, closing his cyan eyes and grinning happily. Hearing this Zim felt something click in his head. He patted the robots head and stood up abruptly.

"Gir, that might have been the smartest thing you have _ever_ said…" Zim praised, "Gir! Mini-moose! Prepare an escape pod! I've got a mating ritual to stop!" Zim shouted exiting his office in celerity. The cyan-eyed SIR unit grinned.

"They gonna be togetha foreva!" he squealed happily. The small moose turned to him.

"Squeak…" it squeaked, "Squeak…"

*o*

Gaz walked up the steps to where Red and the monk were waiting for her. Red eyed her up and down taking her sight in; Gaz wasn't amused by his…stares. She was divine, and Red couldn't wait to have her. She would know what a real leader felt like…the monk cleared his throat signaling that the ritual was about to begin. Red nodded and the monk breathed in once and held his arms out.

"Mating is a sacred and consecrated event. Mates are chosen carefully, and true mates are ones everyone longs to have; though we know only Tallests are allowed to have mates…" the wise monk said, his voice laced with wisdom, "When a Tallest chooses a mate, it is a blessing and a wonderful event. To start, you both have agreed to participate in this ritual; have you not?"

"Yes." Red quickly answered, but Gaz took a moment to take in what was happening.

"Yes…" she finally answered. The monk nodded and went on. From his robes, he took out a chalice that was of an amber color with ruby markings, ruby and amber-colored gems placed around it. He then took out what appeared to be a knife, and Gaz got nervous. What on Earth (or Irk) had she gotten herself into?

*o*

Zim was running as fast as his legs could carry him, he tried to not trample other Irkens onboard the Massive, but if they didn't get out of the way fast enough he didn't even give a second thought to those who were potentially stomped on. All he cared about now was Gaz; and stopping her from making the biggest mistake of her life. He didn't care about what had happened that was making her do this; she was _his_ and there was no way in hell he was going to let some fucking asshole take her away from him. He loved her, the thought of not being able to be with her crushed him; he'd rather die than to have her be taken away by his Tallest. Even if Red was his leader, it didn't matter. Because this was Gaz; his love, his everything; and Irk be damned if he was going to just give her away without a fight. He turned a corner and began to run faster. _Hold on worm-baby, _Zim thought, _Hold on._

*o*

Gaz paled as she saw the monk take out the knife. This was some scary shit, old looking knifes with black swirls on the blade and a hilt that looked like it was made from bone wasn't exactly a cute butterfly. The monk lifted the knife calmly as if it was no big deal, but on the inside Gaz was quaking.

"As a symbol of devotion and togetherness, Irken mates draw out their blood, and mix them together." The monk said, taking Red's arm, pulling the crimson fabric back, revealing his green arm. The monk raised the knife to Red's arm, slicing his flesh into an Irken symbol; Red's green, emerald blood began to drip down his arm; he didn't even wince. After cleaning the knife, the monk placed the wound over the chalice, the blood pouring into it. At about a quarter of the way, the monk removed Red's arm from the chalice and handed him the cup. The monk then grasped Gaz's arm and she slightly shook from fear. She wanted to scream and run, but she knew she had to pull through for Zim. She shut her eyes tightly and repressed the urge to scream out in pain as a strange Irken symbol was carved into her right arm. Then, her arm was placed over the chalice, allowing her red, scarlet blood to flow into the cup.

"Hmm, red blood eh? Red is my favorite color…" Red whispered seductively. Gaz wanted to groan in response, but the pain from her arm was distracting her. Once her blood hit the halfway mark, the monk stirred the blood with the knife, turning it to a brown color. The monk cleaned the knife and put it away.

"As a symbol of two beings becoming one, the mates must drink from the chalice. As each of you drink, may you be reminded of the commitment you make. You are one and will make decisions as one." The monk explained. Gaz almost shit her pants, she knew that something fucking cynical as this was coming. What was this a cult? She had to drink blood? Didn't that only happen in horror movies, or something? The pain on her arm was incredibly distracting and her train of thought was being lost. Red took the chalice and drank half of the brown liquid.

"Mmmm, you taste so sweet _my little Gaz_~" Red whispered, and Gaz wanted to punch him. _One day,_ she thought_, one day_…The monk held the chalice out towards her and he took it reluctantly. She sniffed the contents and wanted to hurl. _It's like medicine_, she told herself, _if you just get it over with its not so bad_…She chugged down the bloody contents, and wanted to hurl, it tasted awful, I mean her blood wasn't tasty to begin with, but whatever was in his blood just made it taste like shit. Literal shit. Like 'diarrhea that's been in the toilet for three days because the power was out' kind of shit. It wasn't pretty. She took it though, she made it this far, what could be worse? She was soon to find out though that it could get worse…much, much worse. The monk put the relics away; looking at the mates and nodded at them.

"To conclude this ceremony and to consummate this union…the last step…" the monk began, and Red's eyes began to fill with want and impatience. Gaz didn't like that look on his face one bit, what the fuck was about to happen. "The last step is to conclude the ceremony; by mating." Gaz's eyes went wide and she gasped in shock. Red giggled giddily; he had been waiting for this. Gaz was shaking in fear, _oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, OH NO!_ She screamed in her mind. This couldn't be happening! They had to _mate?_ As in, like, sex? Right now?! She was afraid, she was only seventeen! Sure she was in the age of consent, but she hadn't even been _thinking _(okay maybe a _little_ bit with Zim…) but not even _daring_ to do anything like that! She wanted her first time to be special, and with someone she truly loved. Not some kind of creepy ass guy who threatened to kill the love of her life if she didn't agree!

"Get ready _my sweet_~" Red giggled, taking her by the arm, placing her down on the floor and reached his hand up beneath her dress. Tears ran in her eyes, fear was causing her to shake uncontrollably; her feeble attempts to escape him were folly. She screamed.

*o*

Zim was almost there! He knew that he wasn't going to let this happen, he _knew _what happened during the mating ritual! And he wasn't going to let anyone touch his beloved Gaz if he had anything to say about it! Zim turned left and saw two guards posted outside the throne room, Zim ran up to the door but the guards were assigned to keep the doors locked. Zim looked at them scornfully.

"I need to get in and see the Tallest, it's an emergency!" Zim shouted at them. The guards did not budge.

"We have been ordered to keep _everyone_ out of the throne room, especially you." One of them replied. Zim gritted his teeth.

"I order you to let me gain access!" Zim demanded, but the other guard shook his head in response.

"No can do sir, Red's orders!" the other guard said. Zim was astonished; Red had 'especially' ordered them not to let him through. It only meant one thing, Red knew about him and Gaz. Zim had to get in, but how? It was only a matter of time before…

Zim and the guards heard the most lurid, blood-curdling scream coming from the throne room; Zim's eyes went wide. _Gaz,_he thought, and the animal inside Zim was unleashed. With a ferocious war cry, Zim took both guards out with a single kick; Zim didn't care if he didn't know the security code for the door. He put his hands between the two crevices and began to pry the door open himself. A regular person, or Irken wouldn't have been able to do this normally, but combine adrenaline and the power of love and you're practically a fucking super hero! Zim's muscles strained and he screamed as he pried open the door. He sprinted forward towards the surprised monk, Red, and Gaz. Zim hissed and took a swing at Red, which he dodged quickly.

"Zim!" Red shouted angrily, his eyes like daggers that wanted to cut Zim into pieces. Zim growled in response and huffed furiously. His eyes were filled with rage and crazed madness, Red himself was intimidated by his appearance.

"Zim?" Zim heard a weak voice say, he looked down and angered expression changed when he saw his beloved's dress torn slightly at the bottom; her frame was trembling below him. _No, he couldn't already have…_ Zim wondered to himself. Zim began to shake with vehemence, his breathing quickened and he barred his teeth at Red.

"If you so much as touched her!" Zim roared furiously.

"Well the fact is, is that we were _about_ to finish the ritual until you barged in uninvited!" Red countered with equal ferocity.

"You are _not_ finishing anything! I won't allow you anywhere near her!" Zim stated, helping Gaz sit up; holding her protectively. Red didn't like what he was seeing and decided that he didn't care about what Gaz wanted anymore. He was going to take her forcibly! He snarled at Zim.

"She's _mine!_ She belongs to _me!"_ Red hissed.

"I'll be dead before that happens!" Zim responded, holding Gaz closer to him.

"If that's your wish…" Red chuckled, diving into the monk's robe and clutching the ceremonial knife. Red lunged at Zim, knife in hand. Zim quickly pushed Gaz out of harm's way. Zim dodged the attack quickly; noticing that the Red had also taken out the chalice which accidently fell on the floor. Zim took an opportunity between swings and slid to grasp the chalice. Though not a very _useful_ tool to use as a weapon; in the academy, they taught the Irken soldiers _anything_ could be used as a weapon to save your life. Zim blocked a swing from the blade with the cup, dodging another swing and throwing a punch at Red. Unprepared for the action, Red was hit head on from Zim's fist with great force. Any normal opponent would have fallen from the force, but then again, Red was no ordinary foe. Red giggled and cracked his neck.

"That all you got?" he giggled crazily, lunging back at Zim again. Gaz was looking at them from only a few feet away in awe. She felt completely helpless in this situation, it was like being in a dream or watching a movie; even though she wanted to do something her body wasn't allowing her to move. She tried to scream at herself to move but she was frozen; which isn't very helpful.

Zim winced in pain as the blade grazed his side, emerald blood oozing from his uniform. That had been a close call; Zim didn't like _close calls_. He dodged yet another attack from Red, jumping away from it. Red kept swinging at Zim until Zim finally knew that he was in a helpless spot; against the glass frame of the outside universe. With nowhere to run, Red grinned evilly at him; Zim held up the chalice in defense.

"Ha! You think an old cup will save you from me!? I told you Zim Gaz belongs to me!" as Red finished his taunts, he stabbed the knife in Zim's direction, but Zim's vision and seemingly slowed down time and he put the chalice's opening on the blade, preventing Red from stabbing him. The sudden dexterity caught Red off guard and Zim took the opportunity and flipped the knife out of Red's hand by flipping back the chalice. The knife flew in the air, landing in Zim's hand. Zim pointed the knife and chalice at Red. Before anyone could do anything, a loud explosion was heard and the voices of chaos filled everyone's ears. The sliding doors to the throne room sliding open and a soldier came running in with blood covering his uniform.

"My Tallest!" the soldier cried, "We're being attacked!"

"What?!" Red angrily shouted, then realized he forgot what was previously happening. Zim tripped Red and used the knife to stab his hand into the metallic floor. Red screamed in pain and Zim took off grabbing a hold of Gaz's arm as they quickly sprinted down the steps and towards the exit. "Don't just stand there, get them!" Red snarled at the monk, attempting to get the knife out of his hand. The monk simply stayed afloat ignoring the Red's request. "Why aren't you following my orders?!" Red roared at the monk.

"Because," the monk replied, "_true mates_ are ones _everyone_ longs to have…" the monk smiled at the running lovers, _true mates_…

**A/N: WOOOOO HOLY CRAP THIS IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER I'VE EVER WRITTEN! IT'S OVER 6,000 WORDS! THIS 'WORD' IS NUMBER 6,170 HOLY CRAP! AND WOAH I THINK I DID PRETTY DAMN GOOD THIS CHAPTER AND YOU KNOW WHAT? FUCK IT I'M CHANGING IT TO 'M' AGAIN ITS TOO SUGESSTIVE! Lol man, the whole Tak thing, I was like, "lol Imma make her a creeper too" and then BOOM awesome stuff happened.**

**I SWEAR FOR GAWD REVIEW HOOKERS!**


	19. Escape

**A/N: I do not own anything and I like horses**

"How's everyone doing?" Dib asked the other members of their crusade, "Everyone put on a space suit?" The suits they had on were the latest in Irken technology; they had shielded their heads in a fine vortex that slid to the contours of their faces, allowing them to breathe. Conveniently, they had been inside each transporting ship; who'd a thunk it, huh? The others responded with words of agreement; turning on their communication modules for easy messages between each other. As they escaped Earth's atmosphere, it wasn't difficult in trying to find the Massive, for it _was_ quite _massive_. The colossal maroon ship which was branded with the Irken symbol was calmly outside of Earth's atmosphere with a few battleships circling around to protect the ship from any harm…

"Dib, what should we do?" queried Dirge, worried about the other, scarier looking ships.

"We blast them of course!" Torque laughed stupidly, causing him to be hit in the back of the head by Mary.

"Idiot! Have you seen our ships? They're not really battling material!" she snapped. Torque and Mary continued to their insane bickering, until Dib got tired of it.

"Guys! Calm down! Let's just wait, I'll hack into their mission framework by mainstreaming an algorithmic code through their ships' broadcast networks." Dib explained. Everyone turned their heads to him in astonishment; seriously, half the time they didn't even know what this kid was saying.

"That's why _you're _the genius." Zita commented, powering down her ship's jets so it would stay stationary; the others did the same.

"Won't be long now…" Dib said determinedly.

*o*

A soldier by the name of Kraal was "busy protecting" the Massive…if you call flying around and doing nothing at all protecting. Who would have the guts to go against the Massive anyway? Ha! Who could take down anyone mightier the Irken Empire? What was the point of staying out here anyway? He and the others on duty were incredibly bored out of their minds. Irk, it was like this every day! They literally flew around all day with nothing to do; couldn't someone have a party or something once in a while? _That wouldn't be so bad, right? _Thought Kraal; he sighed and scratched an antenna; suddenly, he heard a series of beeps coming from the screen below, it blinked the words, "incoming message". Curiously, he tapped the screen once; opening the message. His eyes flicked over the Irken message, then his eyes went wide and a smile formed as he continued to read the message.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, tapping the screen once again to get it out of the way. He quickly brought up his communication module, enabling himself to converse with the other ships. "Hey guys did you get the message?" he inquired them.

"You mean the one about the snack party being held on deck 4379? Yeah! I'm so pumped! Finally giving us a break!" one soldier chimed in.

"I know! I haven't had snacks in so long! I'm going to get curly fries, and muffins!" Kraal noted in excitement, turning his around to the Massive; the launching pad opening to have the battleships fly in; landing swiftly; the pilots jumping out to get a hold of the snacks. Little did they know that the snacks were going to, conveniently, run out…

*o*

Dib smiled as he watched all the battleships retreated into the Massive, leaving it completely exposed. His hacking skills had proved useful, the message had been received by the Irken soldiers and now it was safe for them to approach the Massive. They quickly ignited the engines, pulsing ahead with great speed. While the message was being sent out; Dib had explained to the others that in order for this to work they needed to disable the tracking software; which, thanks to Tak, was known to be on the left side of the ship. They also, courtesy of Dib, would need to hack into the weapons control panel on the Massive and disable their weapon usage; making them unable to fight back. Once these were done; they would find the fuel compartments on the bottom of the Massive and somehow empty out the snacks that fueled the ship. The last step would be to board the Massive and kill the Tallests; making the Irken race surrender.

They continued forward, towards the Massive. Dib began to hack into the weapons control panel; he began pressing hundreds of buttons; trying to find an opening in the mainframe. This wasn't going to be easy; a few lowly battleships were no sweat, but an enhanced piece of technology like the Massive was a force to be reckoned with. Grimacing at the difficulty of the situation, he glanced up and saw the Massive up close now, everyone scanning its walls.

"Dib, could that be it there?" Agent Disembodied head questioned; pointing to a circular mechanism that had the words, "Tracking software" in large black lettering across its face; Dib facepalmed himself.

"How could anyone be so stupid?!" he cried in question, "Guys, shoot at the thing that reads, "tracking software", it's about thirty-two clicks down from the middle of the ship."

"On it!" Agent Tunaghost shouted, tapping a few buttons; letting her cockpit fly open. With the space suits on, she and Agent Nessie were able to breathe normally in the gasless area known as space. While Nessie took over the driving, Tunaghost pulled out a very large gun that was three times her size and looked through the scope of it, focusing on the circular mechanism. "Just a little closer…" she urged Nessie. After a few moments, Tunaghost pulled the trigger, causing a huge beam of light to shoot out of the gun, destroying the tracking software with a cacophonic explosion, which shook the ship slightly. Meanwhile, Dib was returning to his hacking; he was so close he could just taste the wires! Every attempt so far had been blocked or horrendously been a reverse hack; thankfully he had managed to fend off the reverse hacks. Dib was getting exasperated; he pounded his fists on the buttons. He sighed; then itched his hair.

"If only there was a back way in!" he said to himself, a light bulb went on in Dib's head, "that's it!" Dib began typing quickly into the weapons mainframe, yet instead of trying to go in hacking order, he decided to go backwards. The quick reverse in the method of hacking had confused the so called, "advanced" technology. Dib laughed in excitement when he got in the mainframe unscathed. On his screen, letters blinked the work, "passcode"; Dib typed in a mixture of the Tallests names: PurpleRed (again courtesy of Tak). When the words flicked red, Dib tried the other way: RedPurple. This passcode blinked green; allowing Dib access to the weapons on the Massive. He shut them down high fiving Disembodied head. Now all that was left was the snack fuel. Zita was the first to track the fuel compartment locations, she called everyone to her position and they began to throw everything they had at it. From alien-like grenades and large laser guns blasting; the Massive shook rapidly as if it were in fear. The mammoth explosions were fiery and lurid, and when the smoke cleared Dib saw a few snacks fall out into deep space. "Fire!" Dib ordered; smiling, as the explosions continued to rip a large hole into the fuel compartments.

*o*

Zim wasn't even thinking anymore, he ignored every Irken that was passing him; ignoring their screams and panicked movements. He held on tight to Gaz's arm; he figured that they might be going faster than what she was comfortable with; but he didn't care. He wouldn't stop running until she was safe. The two lovers turned a sharp left towards the escape pod room; Mini-moose and Gir were standing outside of it; waiting for their master.

"Start up the pod!" Zim called to Mini-moose between available breaths. A squeak from the stuffed animal showed that he understood. The tiny moose turned into the pod; pressing a big red button that started it up. Zim was completely relieved, that is, until he heard a few soldiers come in from behind him.

"Halt! By the order of Tallest Red! Unhand his mate!" one shouted. Zim gritted his teeth; Gaz was _not Red's_ mate. Gaz was panting hard now, she hadn't ran this fast since she was thirteen, when Gameslave three came out. She felt herself slow down, but Zim gripped her arm tighter, not allowing her to slow as he sprinted forward. Approaching the escape pods, Zim quickly led Gaz inside, he turned to see both Gir and Mini-moose standing in the doorway of the pod. After a few precious moments went by Zim grew impatient.

"Get in! There isn't much time! You've got to hurry!" Zim screamed wildly.

"That's right Masta, you and Gazzy gots to hurry! We protect yous!" Gir grinned turning to knock one of the Irken soldiers unconscious. A demonic squeak emanated from the tiny moose as he tackled another soldier. The two sidekicks looked back at Zim, who was dumbfounded and stood there watching his two companions; confused. "Go Masta, go! We'll be alright! We'll eat toquitos together, 'kay?" Gir tried to convince, but Zim knew it was a lie. Slight tears formed in the Irken's eye as he closed the pod and pressed a few buttons repeatedly. The whirr of the turbines rang in his ears and he took one last glance at his two companions; who stood by him even when he abused them, in the end, they were sacrificing themselves to keep him happy. Zim knew Red would not allow either of them to live…being a part of Zim; Red would immediately have them destroyed. Zim couldn't help but feel guilty and horrible for this. Even after all the cruelty of Zim's actions to them, they respected him…no, they loved him.

"I love you guys…" Zim sobbed softly. As if they heard him, they smiled and continued to fight off the other Irken soldiers. With one last push of a button, the escape pod busted out of the shaft that led to the outside. The pod popped out and began to float over the stars; within moments the jets sputtered and ignited, flying out; away from the Massive ship. Zim wiped away the few tears he had; focusing on what all just happened. Something or _someone_ was attacking the Massive…but what kind of idiot would do that? Looking around he saw the culprits. _Irken transporting ships? Are Irkens attacking the Massive?_ He wondered; Zim wanted to avoid any confrontation, so he began to quietly go around them; hopefully they wouldn't see them…hopefully…

*o*

"Dib, what's that?" Dirge asked motioning over to the large ship that was flying low to go below the Massive.

"It's an Irken ship!" Dib screamed furiously, "Quick! Let's get to it! Go! Go! Go!" The transport ships made their dive towards the little strange pod, and Zim noticed. _Shit!_ Zim thought as he began to try to maneuver his way out of the line of sight. Dib began barking orders to his cohorts, "Zita, Dirge, flank him left! Nessie, Tunaghost flank him right! Torque, Mary go under!" They all did as they were told going into their positions. Dib took a spot just above him, trying to get past him, but whoever was flying the pod was either incredibly skilled or just plain stupid, considering all the moving he was doing. Dib growled, who was this guy? Dib looked and saw Tunaghost open her cockpit and grab out her large gun, pointing it at the large pod. Dib nodded to her once, letting her power up the large weapon. Dib tried increasing the speed of his ship once more, and he barely made it over the cockpit for a few seconds, but he saw something so familiar that it made him gasp in realization. He saw a flash of violet hair…_Gaz!_ Dib whirled around to Tunaghost, whose firearm was armed and ready. Dib flailed his arms back and forth, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" he warned crazily, when Tunaghost saw him she gave him a look of confusion, but powered the gun down. Dib quickly set up a communication link with the pod in front of him, yet it was only an auditory communication, not visual. Zim heard a beeping noise of an incoming message and pressed a button once to answer it.

"What do you want from me?!" Zim asked violently.

"Zim?" a voice eerily similar to Dib's said.

"Dib-human?" Zim questioned. Gaz's eyes went wide in astonishment. Her brother Dib wasn't dead! He was here, fighting the Irkens; not surprising…But he was okay! For the first time in her life, she couldn't be happier hearing his annoying voice.

"Dib!" Gaz cried, smiling and tearing up at the same time, she couldn't believe that her brother was really alive!

"Gaz! Oh, thank God you're safe! But, why are you with Zim? Is he keeping you hostage? Zim I swear if you try to hurt her, I'll, I'll…"

"No Dib, it's okay! Zim's not trying to hurt me! We can explain it when we can get onboard our ship." Gaz informed Dib. Agent Disembodied head was stunned.

"Dib, we don't have time to stop and have tea! We need to get onboard ship now if we are to succeed in our mission! We are running out of time! With the hacking of their weapon systems and their weapon lines down; they cannot stop us!" Disembodied head said desperately; causing a maniacal laugh to exit Zim's mouth.

"Foolish human!" Zim added, "A simple disable of hacking would only temporarily disable the Massive's weapons. Irken technology isn't as weak as yours! Even if you managed to diable the weapons permanently, transporting ships would not even come close to winning in this fight!" Agent Disembodied head growled at this statement; one of the enemies' was poking-fun at the human race.

"You Irken scum, I'll…" he seethed. Dib put his hand on Disembodied head's shoulder.

"No he's right; I only gave myself a seven minute opening…" Dib informed.

"There still must be time left!" Zita tried to convince, but to no avail. Dib simply shook his head sadly.

"The best thing to do now is to get as far away from here as possible…"

"So all this for nothing?" Mary stated angrily.

"It wasn't for nothing! I found my sister!" Dib countered.

"Yeah! _You_ found someone while everyone else in our family starves and maybe even dies!" She argued.

"Guys! Stop fighting! Zim's right…the ships we have aren't made for battling. We just need to find more appropriate battle gear. Our fight today wasn't for naught! We showed the Irkens that we can kick their asses! That we are more intelligent then they think! They're probably even a little scared…" Zita assured. This made everyone feel slightly better; even though this had devastated them. They had been so excited to defeat the Irkens and get their lives back…no they didn't know how long it was before they saw their parents again…even if they would see them again…They all continued their way away from the Massive, traveling away from its sight. Once They were sure they were safe, they boarded Zim and Gaz's large ship. When Dib stepped inside, Gaz gave him a huge hug. The first hug he had ever received from her. At first he was stiff and slightly afraid, but when he realized in was genuine, he hugged her back.

"Dib…I thought you were dead…" she said softly.

"I thought you were too! I'm glad you're safe." He stated hugging her tighter, it was at this point that he looked at Zim hatefully, "And what is this pitiful creature doing here?" Gaz quickly tore away from the hug and punched Dib hard on his shoulder. "Ow! Jesus Gaz, what's your problem!?" she humphed and went back towards Zim and intertwined her hand in his.

"For your information, he saved me. He's the reason why I'm safe…" she stated, blushing slightly; resting her head on Zim's shoulder. Dib stared at her in amazement, she was! Did she? How could? BLARG! His head starting spinning; good God, she didn't really? Did she?

"You…do you…and Zim?" he squeaked his eye twitching. The others in the room were also shocked as well; staring at the strange couple intently.

"Well…maybe" Gaz giggled, sliding a finger up and down Zim's arm, a deep emerald color coming to his face. It was in that moment that Dib Membrane almost died. He felt his life flash before his eyes as he blacked out and fainted. With no one to catch him, he quickly fell to the hard, cold metal floor of the ship. Everyone winced at the loud _thud_ that came from his body crashing down. Gaz quickly let go of Zim and headed towards her "wounded" brother. She knelt down to see Dib appear almost frozen, paralyzed by the shock of what she had said. She sighed deeply.

"I knew he wasn't going to like this idea…" she commented sadly.

**A/N: FILLER…this is a filler chapter don't you just hate those? Well Dib's plan fails…again…three times the charm?**


	20. The Need To Fight

**A/N: READ THE BOTTOM IT'S IMPORTANT! LIKE MUY IMPORTANTE PERSONAS! SO READ IT!**

Dib's eyes flashed open, yelping and reaching for his face as he felt the sting of pain well on his cheek, not to mention the pain engulfing the back of his head. Had he fainted? What had happened before he blacked out? His eyes adjusted from the darkness that he had been surround by mere seconds ago to find his sister staring at him expressionless. She sighed in relief.

"Looks like the slap did the trick." She announced, calming the others in the ship. Dib was still rubbing his head when all that had transpired came rushing back in a wave of horror. The huge wave engulfed him and threatened to drown in in realization and revulsion. His eyes blinked rapidly and he began stammering incoherently. The words anyone could make out were lots of 'yous' and 'hims' and possibly 'whys'. His head started to shake rapidly from side to side. The silly actions caused Zim to laugh uncontrollably, but a dangerous stare from Gaz made him close his mouth instantly. Gaz leaned back to her brother; breathing in one large breath before raising her hand to roughly collide her open palm with his face. His head stopped shaking and instead he cried in pain. "Get a hold of yourself; don't you think your overreacting to this a bit?" she asked, getting up and crossing her arms. Dib just stared at her, then to Zim; then back to his baby sister, and then to his arch nemesis. This wasn't happening; he got up quickly and glared suspiciously at the Irken. He looked towards Gaz and stepped towards her.

"What has he done to you? Has he brainwashed you? What has the ENEMY done to you!?" Dib half screamed half asked. Zim was taken aback by Dib's indiscretion in assuming that he had done something terrible to his baby sister. His brows furrowed and he took a step forward; placing his hand on his chest defensively.

"Zim has done nothing to your sister, he assures you!" he countered, Dib only stared at him more hatefully.

"As if I would believe you!" Dib yelled at the green alien who only began to fume in anger even more.

"What could Zim have _possibly _done to her?!" he questioningly shouted.

"I don't know, but whatever you did is making her not herself!"

"Why I'll have you know Zim has done no such-"

"No Zim, I'll tell him." A familiar, yet quiet voice said calmly. The voice belonging to Gaz, both boys stared down at the violet haired girl in confusion. Gaz closed her eyes, and opened them slowly, her features became forlorn and she took a small step away from the two boys; looking down and away from them so they couldn't see her face. She seemed to slowly regain her composure and raised her head up. She wiped away what appeared to be a tear and took a deep shaky breath before starting her dramatic monologue. "Zim did do something to me…" she paused, as if unsure to continue; as if it was too hard to continue. "Zim…he…he used a machine called the _Emotion-changerinator_ to manipulate my emotions and make me love him!" she said with despair as she reached up a hand to prevent the tears from coming. Dib gasped in sure horror.

"Really?" he asked, only to be answered with a quick, but powerful, punch to the stomach; knocking the wind out of him. He fell to his knees; wheezing for air.

"Of course not, you idiot." Gaz stated, rolling her eyes; annoyed by Dib's stupidity. This caused Zim to sigh and laugh in relief; glad that she was only kidding. Dib's breath returned to him and he stood up looking at his sister in muddle.

"So, so you really do love him?" Dib questioned sadly. Looking with sad eyes up to his sister. She blinked a few times at him.

"I just fucking told you Dib, the answer is _yes._ I. Am. In. Love. With. Zim." Gaz said, grabbing hold of Dib's collar. "And if you have got a problem with that," she said sweetly, "you can shove it up your ass." She finished foully; shoving him slightly. "But I am glad you're okay." She added truthfully, a small smile grazing her lips. Dib was still skeptical and made noises of defiance, but as he saw Gaz intertwine her hand with Zim's own and the smiles that they shared together, Dib realized that this was happening. _This _was real; completely genuine. _They both_ were telling the truth. _They_ loved each other.

"Well I'll be damned…" Dib commented, "You really do love him."

"And I _her_." Zim assured, embracing her protectively. Dib could do nothing but sigh in defeat. All those years of fighting, and it ended up like this. Great. His enemy was now his sister's girlfriend; therefore, an ally. Great, just _peachy_.

"We need to figure out what the fuck is going on and how we should act." Zita chimed in, disrupting this family dispute. Zim nodded and let go of Gaz reluctantly. He asked everyone to gather around to hear of exactly, 'what the fuck' was going on.

"Puny Earth Humans," he began, then getting an elbow to the side from Gaz, "Sorry, tiny lower species…" yet another blow to the side, "Small little worms…" this hit almost brought Zim to his knees, "Humans..." he started again awaiting another hit from his love, when one didn't come, he continued, "I am, or was, the General of the Irken Empire. I am the reason your planet was enslaved. Though you have cause to hate me, hear me out. After being conquered, the Tallests collected Gaz to be a servant, or so I thought." He paused, thinking of the true reason behind Gaz's capture and what _possibly_ could have happened. He began to clench his hands; cracking his knuckles. Gaz noticed his anger, and put a loving hand on his shoulder, he clutched it softly. "She, in reality, was taken to become the mate of one of the Tallests, one of my _old_ leaders…Red" the others in the crowd let out 'ewws' in disgust. "Red and Gaz were about to finish the mating ritual when you guys came to the rescue, you distracted him long enough for Gaz and I to escape. I, we," he said grasping her hand, "are forever in your debt." He respectfully bowed, as to his culture. "This isn't over though," he continued, "I've known Red for many years; he isn't the kind of Irken to give up easily. When he wants something he takes it; no matter the cost. The Meekrob Wars were initiated when the diadem of Wisthala was coveted by both the Meekrob and Red. I wouldn't be surprised if something so full scale could happen in this situation as well." Zim paused again to let his words sink in with the rest of the people in the ship. "We must act quickly, for I know that at this moment Red is searching for us."

"What must we do?" Zita queried, "We can't take on an enemy that knows what we are doing! We had the element of surprise before, and it was only good enough to disable their weapons for a good few minutes! Look at us! We are only nine people, and one alien! What are we going to do in our small numbers?" Zim thought for a moment, truly this was the truth. Their numbers were small; they stood no chance against mighty Irken military power, but what if they had numbers? What if they outnumbered the Irkens? Could it work? He looked around at the sad faces, including the woman he loved. Zim knew he would do whatever it took to protect her. It was a risk, but the great and ALMIGHTY ZIM had done risker. It was dangerous, but the humble SUPERIOR BEING THAT WAS ZIM lived for danger. It would be a hard fight, but the AMAZING AND POWERFUL ZIM had fought harder. Zim smirked. _Zim will have victory, _he thought to himself.

"We must travel to the outreaches of the galaxy; we must find species that wish to fight, one's that bear resentment toward the Empire…and I know just the ones!" he exclaimed, running about to another room in the ship. The other were puzzled, but quickly got up to follow him. They saw Zim enter a strange room that had a large metallic table it; observing Zim, they saw him press a few buttons on a keypad, causing the table to flicker and light up a three dimensional holographic display of what appeared to be the universe. Zim looked it over and pressed an area on the three dimensional map. The map zoomed in closer, and Zim smiled in delight. "These three planets here are planets Vort, Nhar-Gh'Ok, and Plookesia. All conquered planets of the Irken Empire. Their people are strong-willed and possess great strength; they surly take up an attempt to overthrow the Empire. With their great numbers we can most definitely defeat the Irkens! This must be done as soon as possible; it will only take a day to find us if we stay put. I suggest we leave as soon as possible."

"But Zim," Gaz added, pointing to the planets, "These two: Vort and Plookesia. They are close to one another, but the other one is completely different, it's farther away."

"Yes, approximately 2,345 light years away compared to the mere .87 light years distance between Vort and Plookesia." He stated normally, "What is the issue?"

"So, you're saying we are splitting up?" She questioned sadly. Zim nodded.

"It's the only way to get assistance as quickly as possible; it takes about six days Earth time for news to travel to these planets; the Irkens assigned there will still believe I am the General. If I give I message to you to grant you access to anything on those planets, they Irken soldiers can do nothing but to grant you that access. As for me, my appearance should be enough to gain such access." He said arrogantly; proud that he was such an INGENIOUS Irken.

"What do you mean, 'as for you'? I'm coming with you!" Gaz stated highly, Zim looked to her and grabbed her shoulders.

"No, you must go with your brother and the others." Zim told her softly; looking sadly into her amber pools.

"No, I'm coming with you! Why can't I go with you?" She asked angrily, diving into Zim's arms, closing her arms around him in a loving embrace, "I won't leave you."

"You must…" he said running his fingers through her hair; playing with the violet strands, "Red will only find you faster."

"He's right Gaz," Dib said, causing Gaz to look toward his brother, "Red will only assume that you are with Zim and will not leave him; we must take the chance and keep you safe."

"But what if he catches Zim?" she asked hysterically, turning around to face her brother fully, "What if Red finds Zim and not me there?! What then?!" she didn't know it, but she began to tremble the thought of what could happen to Zim was unthinkable; her thoughts were soothed by the gentle touch of her beloved, he caressed her cheek from behind; leaning into the touch, she turned back toward Zim, who gazed lovingly with his dazzling ruby orbs.

"Zim had promised to never die unless his love wished him to. Zim keeps his promises." He said sternly, "no matter what." Gaz felt a small tear come from her eyes but Zim wiped it away; ignoring the small singe he felt. She smiled but nodded; it made sense Red would go looking for them, and assume that they would be together. To avoid any confrontation, it was best to split up. Though in her heart she was worried, she knew that she would see her Zim again. Zim began to write messages for the humans' voyage. While doing this, the others began gathering supplies and preparing for the trip, grabbing food, fuel, and any other ammunition they needed. Once everyone was ready to go, Zim gave the messages to Dib and nodded once. Dib sighed and reluctantly put his hand out; Zim looked at the gesture curiously.

"It's a handshake, people give them out when they agree on something, or whatever…" Dib said pretentiously, glancing over at Gaz. Zim was confused about what they were exactly agreeing on, but grasped his hand and followed Dib's arm up and down. Humans were definitely odd…Dib saw Gaz walking over and then saw Zim smile such a genuine smile that there was no doubt in his mind anymore. "You really love her don't you?" Zim nodded.

"More than anything else in this universe…" Zim replied. Dib smirked and scoffed; then turned around to exit Zim's ship into one of the transport ships. Gaz approached Zim with a sad look; he knew that she was feeling skeptical about this whole situation; uneasy. He smiled at her, and laced his hand in one of hers, using the other one to lift her head up to him. "You know how much I love you, don't you?" he asked softly. She nodded.

"Probably just as much as I love you." She answered. He chuckled.

"Even more." He said, kissing her forehead lovingly.

"I'm worried Zim…no that's not it…I'm…I'm afraid." She said truthfully; though, Gaz Membrane isn't accustomed to fear, she knew that when it came to the person she loved, anything could scare her. Zim rested his forehead on hers.

"I know you are, but you must remember that even if someone were to take you, I would rescue you. If we were thrown into separate cells, I would break the bars just to be with you. Even if we were separated I would search and destroy anything in my path just to be with you. Gaz, we will see each other again. I will find you, no matter where you go. You cannot hide from Zim." He stated jokingly, caressing her gently. "When this is all over, we will be together. No one will stop us. We won't have to be on the run. We will live our lives together, with each other. Because I am yours, and you are Zim's." he said, holding her to him defensively. She giggled at his silly 'manly protectiveness' and stroked an antenna; causing him to shiver. A cry from Mary told them it was time for them to leave. She turned to leave but Zim pulled her back in locking his lips with hers as they melted into one last glorious kiss before leaving. Their emotions were interpreted through the kiss: the passion, the sadness, the worry, the love; all in one simple loving action. When they broke apart, Zim took her hand and kissed it; much like in fairy tales. She smiled as her face became florid in complexion and then a call from Dib told her it was time to go. They hesitantly drifted apart and Gaz went to exit Zim's ship, glancing back one last time to see her beloved wave at her with a sad smile. She did so back as her ship's door closed and they slowly began to turn out of the way before zooming into the deep confines of space. Zim quickly got to the pod's control panel and began to drive his way off; setting coordinates for planet Nhar-Gh'Ok.

*o*

Red grimaced and growled horribly at the wound that the medical drones were patching up on his hand. The knife had certainly left its mark not only on his hand, but on his pride. To be defeated by that _lowly_ worm of an Irken was shameful! No one could know the true shame he felt by the pathetic defeat. _That horrible Monk! I'm sure he'll enjoy his fate with the flesh eating rat people…_ he giggled at the thought. The image of the Irken Monk's body parts flinging everywhere was enough to make any Irken squeal in joy. The wonderful thought was interrupted by an unwanted Purple entering the medical bay.

"Hey there! How's it going?" he asked the red dressed Irken. Red's eye twitched at this ridiculous question.

"How's it going? How's it going!? My mate has been taken by that filthy damned idiot of an Irken! Not to mention my hand has been stabbed through no less! AHRG!" he winced as a medical drone pulled too hard on a bandage. Purple noticed how mad Red was; he didn't like it when Red was mad. He'd seen what happens to others who got Red mad…it wasn't pretty. It involved blood and organs flying in all directions. Not exactly his style. Purple gulped and laughed nervously.

"I didn't mean anything by it, just you know…" he lost his train of thought. Red sighed and put the uninjured hand on Purple's shoulder.

"I'm not mad and you Purp," He stated firmly, "It's that Zim! He's taken away my mate and I haven't got any time for any of this stupid shit! Well, once we get her back I don't care what she says anymore; I'm going to make him squeal, I want him to die slowly; painfully. I want the last thing he sees to be me and _my_ _little Gaz_ mating in front of him…" Purple was taken aback by that very graphic statement, but he was also surprised that Red was still so focused on Gaz. He looked at him questioningly.

"Red, you're not thinking about going after them do you? I mean, look what they did to the Massive!" he tried to reason, but there is no reasoning with a madman, or in this case, madirken. Red returned the questionable stare and stood up sharply.

"But of course! She belongs to me! She's mine! And I will do whatever it takes to find her! Her little friends might have disabled our ship, but it's only a matter of time before its up and running! When it is we are going to find them, bring them here, kill them, and I will get my mate!" he roared, backing purple into the wall. Red huffed a bit and turned back around, cracking his neck and giggling madly. "Oh yes, no matter where you go, or how far you try to run, I will find you _my little Gaz_. I _will_ find you~"

**A/N: What up world, SS here telling you that this is the end of this fanfic; control your butts guys, there will be a sequel, I just figure since this has nothing to do with a rainy night anymore that I need to make a new title for a sequel! IT WILL BE NAMED: The Fate That Binds Us! PEACE OUT BROSKIES! **


	21. Listen up!

Guys! The Fate That Binds Us is now up! Continue the ADVENTURE OF ZIM AND GAZ AS THEY TRY TO DEFEAT RED!


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